■/rORiCAl  SURVEY 


THE  TRAVELS  AND  ADVENTURES 
IN  FOREIGN  LANDS 


-OF 


MR.  AND  MRS.  H.  DARWIN  MClLRATH. 


Compiled  from  Letters  Written  by  Mr.  Mcllratli  and  Published  in 

THE  SUNDAY  AND  WEEKLY  INTER  OCEAN, 

from  April,  1895,  to  November,  1898. 


Copyright,  1898, 
By  The  Inter  Ocean  Publishing  Co. 


7  \Hl  TUX 


THE  TOUR  AT  A  GLANCE. 


INTRODUCTORY.  PAGES. 

Chicago  Cyclists  doamonstrate  their  enthusiasm  at  the  proposed  World's  Tour 
awheel -Friends  of  the  Inter  Ocean  indorse  the  project  by  giving  the  Mcllraths 
letters  to  friends  in  foreign  lands— The  starting  point  left  behind  on  April  10, 1895. .  5-7 

CHAPTER  I. 

Two  and  one-half  days  fretting  into  Nebraska— Many  friends  made  on  the  road— An 
unanswerable  argument  in  favor  of  the  'rational"  costume  for  women— An  en- 
counter with  the  law  at  Melrose  Park  and  what  came  of  it 9-13 

CHAPTER  II. 

Hard  cycling  in  a  hailstorm— A  speeder  with  one  leg  arouses  the  admiration  of  the 
World's  rourists— In  Colorado  at  the  one-time  rendezvous  of  the  famous  James 
Boys  and  tlu  ir  gang— The  1,000  mile  mark  covered  by  May  3 13-18 

CHAPTER  III. 
Made  wanderers  at  midnight  through  the  whim  of  an  unreasonable  woman— Breaking 
a  coasting  record  at  Hot  Springs,  Colo.— Western  railroad  beds  as  dangerous  as 
the  Spanish  Mines  in  Havana  Harbor— An  explosion  and  a  badly  lacerated  tire. .  18-23 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Lizards,  snakes  and  swollen  streams  make  iraveling  lively  for  tourists— Paralysis  of 
hands  and  arms  necessitates  a  week's  course  of  medical  treatment— "Tommy 
Atkins,"  most  companionable  of  Englishmen,  forced  to  deserc  the  Inter  Ocean 

cyclists 24-26 

CHAPTER   V. 

Vigilantes  of  Nevada  mistake  the  wheelman  '  or  a  notorious  bandit— Saved  by  one's 
gold  teeth— Into  Reno,  where  hospitality  has  its  abode— Quick  time  to  California, 
and  then  off  for  the  Mikado's  land  on  Oct.  12 29-33 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Quartered  at  the  Club  Hotel,  Yokohama— Japan's  extraordinary  credit  system— At 
the  funeral  of  a  prince,  and  a  few  points  noted  on  Japanese  crowds— Uncle  Sam's 
people  get  the  best  of  everything  in  Japan 33-38 

CHAPTER  VII. 
His  Highness,  the  Emperor,  objects  to  being  "shot"  by  a  camera— The  war  hoPdays 
at  Shokausha  Park.  Kudan— Ry  steamer  to  China— An  effe3tive  "gun" for  Chinese 
dogs— Cyclists  the  center  of  many  inquisitive  crowds 39-42 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Guests  at  a  Chinese  wedding— The  dark  side  of  life  in  China  sought  and  found— In- 
describable horrors  of  a  native  prison— New  Year  extravagantly  celebrated— Mrs. 
Mcllrath's  pen  picture  of  a  Chinese  lady  of  fashion 43-47 

CHAPTER   IX. 
Received  in  state  by  the  Toa  Toi  of  Su  Chow— Invited  to  witness  the  execution  of  a 
woman  by  the  "Seng  Chee"  method— Debut  of  the  bicycle  along  the  Grand  Canal 
—"Foreign  devils"  pursued  by  maddened  mobs  of  natives 48-53 

CHAPTER   X. 
The  American  people's  able  representative  at  Ching  Kiang— A  reminiscence  of  his 
pluck  and  courage  in  settling  claims  for  his  country— Wheeling  by  night  in  a 
strange  country  with  mud  up  to  the  bicycle  hubs 53-57 

CHAPTER  XI. 
Saved  by  a  Mandarin  from  the  clutches  of  an  Asiatic  Shylock— Cyclists  stray  into  the 
dangerous  province  of  Hunan— Taken  into  Shaze,  the  city  of  blood  and  crimes— 
The  Yang-Tse  Kiang  gorges  from  a  houseboat 57-62 

3 


4  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

CHAPTER   XII.                                                         PAGES. 
The  Yang-Tse-Kiang  in  Its  fiercest  mood  turned  to  advantage  by  a  native  undertaker 
—An  appreciative  Tai  Foo  pays  the  tourists  for  calling  upon  him — Severe  punish- 
ment of  a  grasping  boatman— A  forced  march  to  Chung  King G2-6G 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Coolie  guides  and  luggage  bearers  desert  the  tourists— Opium  the  curse  of  the  Chinese 
Empire — The  most  dangerous  stage  of  the  Chinese  trip  concluded  at  last— Chung 
King's  conjurer  gives  a  remaruable  street  performance 67-71 

CHAPTER   XIV. 

Inter  Ocean  tourists  become  tramps  through  rain  and  snow,  with  the  wheels  carried 
on  bamboo  poles— Nearing  the  boundary  line  of  China— Sudden  change  of 
climate  and  a  narrow  escape  from  the  sunstroke— Chang,  the  Yunnan  Giant 72-76 

CHAPTER  XV. 
A  toast  to  the  United  States  on  Burmese  soil— "On  the  Road  to  Mandalay"— Enter- 
tained at  a  wedding  of  royalty,  where  a  feature  of  the  programme  caused  ladies 
to  retire  and  bachelors  to  blush— Hospitable  British  officers 76-81 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Rangood  suffers  an  attack  of  the  bicycling  fever— Native  sports  supplanted  by  cor- 
rupt hnrse-racing— A  prize  fight  where  rules  do  not  count— Across  the  Bay  of 
Bengal  by  steamer 81-88 

CHAPTER    XVII. 

Arrival  of  the  tourists  causes  great  exc'tement  at  Benares— A  pretty  trio  of  super- 
cilious British  wheelmen— Guests  of  the  Maharajah  at  Fort  Ramagar— A  leap 
almost  into  the  jaws  of  death 88-04 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Pursued  by  a  maddened  herd  of  water  buffalo— A  joke  ends  in  a  race  for  life  — 
The  Yankee  fla<»  a  conspicuous  feature  of  the  Queen's  Jubilee  at  Delhi— A  re- 
minder of  the  plucky  but  unfortunate  Frank  Lenz 94-96 

CHAPTER   XIX. 

Patriotism  nearly  lands  Mcllrath  in  a  native  prison— A  night  of  terror  attributed  to 
Rodnev,  the  net  monkey— Cyclists  stricken  with  fever  and  become  helpless 
Invalids  at  Lahore— Bicycling  much  more  comfortable  than  English  national 
traveling 97-102 

CHAPTER    XX. 

Last  days  in  India  spent  during  the  dreaded  monsoon  season— The  pet  monkey's 
anpetite  for  rubber  brings  about  pn  annoying  delav—  Officials  refuse  to  let  the 
Inter  Ocean  tourists  follow  out  their  plans  and  ride  through  Beloochistan 103-107 

CHAPTER   XXI. 
On  board  the  "  Assyria  "  bound  for  Persia— American  firearms  come  in  handy  when 
road  agents  ask  for  "presents"— Climbing  the  Alps  child's  play  compared  with 
crossing  the  Kotals  of  Persia 108-112 

CHAPTER   XXII. 
A  visiting  card  left  on  (he  Porch  of  Xerxes— At  the  ruins  of  Persepolis— Some  plain 
truths,  as  to  the  character  of  the  Armenians— Lost  in  a  snowstorm  on  the  peak 
of  a  mountain— Mrs.  Mcllrath's  feet  frozen  badly 113-118 

CHAPTER   XXIII. 
The  most  miserable  Christmas  day  ever  passed  by  man— The  Sultan's  cavalrymen 
forced  to  admit  the  superority  of  fie  bicycle— Deserted  by  a  cowardly  driver  on 

the  road  to  Teheran-The  trip  to  Resht  made  by  carriages. 118-122 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 
Landed  in  Russia  three  years  after  leaving  Chicago— Easter  Sunday  in  Tiflis,  the 
"Paris  of  the  Caucausus"— In  sight  of  Mount  Ararat— The  pet  monkey  commits 
suicide   in   Constantinople— A    Turkish  newspaper  joke— Roumania  the  next 
country  entered , 122-126 

CHAPTER   XXV. 
Saluted  by  the  king  of  Roumania— A  country  where  cyclists  are  in  their  glory- 
Splendid  rising  into  Austro-Hungarv- Vienna   gives  the  Inter  Ocean  tourists 
the  heartiest  of  welcomes— Munich  and  its  art  galleries 126-130 


INTRODUCTORY. 


PROPOSAL  OF  THE  INTER  OCEAN  TOUR— ENTHUSIASTIC  CHICAGO   WHEELMEN 
ATTEND  THE  RECEPTIONS  TO  THE  CYCLISTS— THE  START  ON  APRIL  10. 


Beyond  tests  of  speed  involving  championships  and  world's  records, 
there  have  been  few  performances  in  the  recent  history  of  cycling  to 
attract  more  general  notice  than  the  world's  tour  awheel  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  EL  Darwin  Mellrath.  In  the  early  Spring  of  1S93  the  Chicago 
Inter  Ocean,  appreciating  the  great  interest  taken  in  cycling  all 
over  the  country,  planned  this  remarkable  trip  of  more  than  30,000 
miles.  From  the  moment  of  the  first  announcement  of  the  Mellrath 
tour  to  the  time  of  their  home-coming,  interest  in  and  admiration  for 
the  Inter  Ocean  Cyclists  never  abated.  Letters  of  inquiry  at  once 
began  to  come  in  so  thick  and  fast  to  the  Inter  Ocean  office,  that  to 
facilitate  matters  and  more  thoroughly  acquaint  the  public  with  the 
details  of  the  tour  than  could  be  done  in  the  columns  of  the  Inter 
Ocean,  a  series  of  receptions  was  tendered  to  the  intrepid  riders  for 
several  days  prior  to  their  start.  The  large  room  at  101  Madison  Street, 
Chicago,  was  secured  for  the  purpose,  and  for  days  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Mellrath  received  their  friends  and  admiring  enthusiastic  Chicago 
wheelmen.  The  crowds  in  front  of  the  building  became  so  great  grad- 
ually that  special  policemen  were  detailed  to  keep  the  throng  moving 
and  traffic  open.    Among  those  who  visited  the  Mcllraths  were: 

Mrs.  K.  B.  Cornell,  President  of  the  Ladies'  Knickerbocker  Cycling 
Club,  Roy  Keator  of  the  Chicago  Cycling  Club,  J.  L.  Stevens  and  W.  C. 
Lewis  of  the  Lincoln  Cycling  Club,  Frank  T.  Fowler,  Frank  S.  Dona- 
hue and  Frank  Bentson  of  the  Illinois  Cycling  Club,  O.  H.  V.  Relihen 
of  the  Overland  Cycling  Club,  Miss  Annis  Porter,  holder  of  the  Ladies' 
Century  Record,  Thomas  Wolf,  of  Chicago-New  York  fame.  Letter 
Carrier  Smith,  who  has  made  the  trip  from  New  York  to  Chicago  five 
times,  David  II.  Dickinson,  S.  J.  Wagner,  O.  Zimmerman  (a  cousin  to 
the  famous  A.  A.),  Frank  E.  Borthman,  R.  B.  Watson,  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
W.  S.  Fowler,  Mrs.  J.  Christian  Baker,  Mrs.  L.  Lawrence.  John  Palmar, 
President  of  rainier  Tire  Co.,  Gus  Steele,  Yost  racing  team,  C.  Sterner 
and  Grant  r.  Wright,  Ashland  Club,  II.  J.  Jacobs.  C.  G.  Sinsabaugli. 
editor  of  "Bearings,"  Mesdames  A.  G.  Terry,  George  E.  Baude,  Helen 


6  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

Waters,  D.  W.  Barr,  C.  Hogan,  Mrs.  Doctor  Linden,  George  Pope, 
Robert  Scott,  Misses  Kennedy,  N.  E.  Hazard,  Eva  Christian,  Mrs. 
Charles  Han-is,  J.  G.  Cochrane,  Pauline  Wagner  and  Ada  Bale. 

Many  of  those  who  called,  though  utter  strangers  to  the  tourists, 
upon  the  strength  of  their  friendship  for  the  Inter  Ocean  brought 
letters  of  introduction  for  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mcllrath  to  relations  and 
acquaintances  in  the  foreign  lands  to  be  visited.  The  itinerary  as 
planned  by  the  Inter  Ocean  was  as  follows: 

Start  from  Chicago,  April  10,  1895:  Dixon,  111.;  Clinton,  Cedar  Rap- 
ids, Des  Moines,  Council  Bluffs,  Iowa;  Omaha,  Lincoln,  Grand  Island, 
Neb.;  Denver,  Pike's  Peak,  Colo.;  Cheyenne,  Laramie,  Green  River, Wy- 
oming; Salt  Lake  City.Ogden,  Utah;  Elko,  Reno,  Nev.;  Sacramento,  San 
Francisco,  Cal.;  steamer  to  Yokohama,  Kioto,  Osaka,  Niko,  Kamachura, 
Papenburg,  Japan;  steamer  to  Hongkong  and  Canton,  China;  the 
Himalayas,  Bankok,  Siam,  Bagoon,  Nurmah;  Calcutta.  Benarez,  Luck- 
now,  Cawnpore;  Agro,  Lahore,  India:  Jask,  Teheran,  Tabriz,  Persia; 
Erzeroum,  Constantinople,  Turkey;  Athens,  Greece;  steamer  to  Italy; 
Turento,  Pompeii,  Rome,  Florence,  Venice,  Milan  and  Nice,  Italy; 
Toulon,  Marseilles,  France;  Barcelona,  Valencia,  Carthagena,  Gibraltar, 
Spain;  steamer  across  channel  to  Tangier  and  Cadiz;  return  via  steamer 
to  Gibraltar,  Lisbon,  Portugal;  Madr  d,  Spain;  Bordeaux,  Orleans,  Pari?, 
France;  Brussels,  Belgium;  Frankfort,  Germany;  Vienna,  Austria;  Ber- 
lin, Germany;  Warsaw,  Poland;  St.  Petersburg,  Russia;  steamer  to 
Stockholm,  Sweden;  Christiana,  Norway;  steamer  to  Great  Britain, 
Scotland,  England  and  Ireland;  steamer  to  New  York,  Buffalo,  Erie, 
Fenn. ;    Cleveland  and  Toledo,  Ohio;    Fort  Wayne,  Ind.;    and  Chicago. 

It  had  been  intended  for  the  tourists  to  depart  from  Chicago  at 

7  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  April  10.  After  farewell  receptions  at  the 
Illinois  Cycling  Club  and  the  Lake  View  Cycling  Club,  it  was  decided. 
In  view  of  the  popular  demand,  that  the  hour  for  departure  be  changed 
until  noon.  So  it  was  that  as  the  clock  in  the  Inter  Ocean  tower  struck 
12  on  Saturday,  April  1,  the  credentials  and  passport,  which  was 
signed  by  Secretary  of  State  Gresham,  were  given  to  Mr.  Mcllrath, 
and  in  the  midst  of  a  crowd  numbering  thousands,  and  with  an  escort 
of  hundreds  of  Chicago  wheelmen,  the  Inter  Ocean  cyclists  were  faced 
west  and  started  on  their  tour  of  the  globe. 

Captain  Byrnes  of  the  Lake  Front  Police  Station  and  a  detail  of 
police  made  a  pathway  through  the  crowd  on  Madison  Street  to  Clark. 
Cable  cars  had  been  stopped  and  the  windows  of  the  tall  buildings  on 
each  side  of  the  street  were  filled  with  spectators.  A  great  cheer  went 
up  as  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mcllrath  mounted  their  wheels  to  proceed.  They 
could  go  only  a  few  yards  so  congested  was  the  street,  and  they  were 
forced  to  lead  their  wheels  to  Clark  Street,  north  to  Washington  and 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS.  7 

west  lo  Des  Plaines.  Here  they  mounted  and  the  farewell  procession 
was  given  its  first  opportunity  to  form.  A  carriage  containing  Frank  T. 
Fowler,  John  F.  Palmer,  John  M.  Irwin  and  Lou  M.  Houseman,  sport- 
ing editor  of  the  Inter  Ocean,  led  the  way.  Next  came  a  barouche 
containing  Mrs.  Annie  R. Boyer  of  Defiance,  O.,  Mrs.  Mcllrath's  mother. 
The  escort  of  cyclers,  four  abreast,  followed,  with  the  tourists  flanked 
by  the  secretaries  of  the  Illinois  and  Lake  View  Cycling  Clubs.  At 
the  Illinois  Club  House  came  the  leave-taking,  and  not  until  then 
could  the  tourists  be  said  to  be  fairly  started. 

The  unlooked  for  events  of  the  three  years  following  1895,  chief 
among  which  was  the  Spanish-American  War,  caused  several  material 
changes  in  the  itinerary  of  the  Mcllraths  as  originally  planned.  Though 
accomplished  successfully,  the  long  trip  across  Persia,  taken  during  the 
dead  of  winter,  resulted  in  delays  that  had  not  been  anticipated  and 
after  the  cyclists  had  entered  Germany,  it  was  deemed  best  by  the  pro- 
moters of  the  enterprise  to  bring  the  tour  to  an  end.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Mcllrath  left  Southampton,  England,  the  first  week  in  October,  1SH8. 
After  landing  in  New  York  they  took  a  rest  of  several  days  before 
starting  overland  to  Chicago.  The  route  from  New  York  to  Chicago  led 
through  the  following  cities:  New  York  to  Yonkers,  Poughkeepsie, 
Hudson,  Albany,  Schenectady,  Canajoharie,  Utica,  Syracuse,  Newark, 
Rochester.  Buffalo,  Fredonia,  New  York;  Erie,  Penn.;  Geneva,  Cleve- 
land. Oberlin,  Bellevue,  Bowling  Green,  Napoleon,  Bryan,  Ohio;  Butler, 
Kendallville,  Goshen,  South  Bend,  La  Porte  Ind.;  through  South 
Chicago  and  Englewood  to  the  Inter  Ocean  Office. 


[The  Mcllrath  equipment  consisted  of  truss-frame 
wheels  made  by  Frank  T.  Fowler,  of  Chicago,  fitted 
with  Palmer  tires  and  Christy  saddles  furnished  by 
A.  G.  Spalding  &  Bro.] 


CHAPTER  I. 

PROGRESS   ARRESTED   BY  A  rOLICE   OFFICER  IN  MELROSE   PARK — A  PLEASANT 
RIDE   OF   TWO  AND   A  HALF   DAYS   INTO   IOWA   AND   NEBRASKA. 

When  I  consented  to  the  plan  of  going  around  the  world  I  intended 
to  make  the  trip  alone,  but  my  wife  pleaded  so  hard  to  accompany  me 
that  I  finally  concluded  to  take  her.  She  is  a  brave  little  girl,  and  rather 
than  considering  her  a  burden,  I  now  look  upon  her  as  having  been 
of  great  help  to  me  on  our  memorable  voyage.  Aside  from  the  fact  that 
she  is  an  expert  wheelwoman,  she  is  also  an  unerring  shot.  Nerve 
she  possesses  in  abundance,  as  all  will  agree  after  reading  of  the 
adventures  which  befell  us.  The  outfit  with  which  we  started  did  not 
exceed  fifty  pounds  each.  P>oth  of  us  rode  diamond  truss-frame 
Fowler  wheels,  weighing  2G  and  27  pounds  each.  The  saddles  were 
Christy  anatomical,  with  Palmer  tires,  and  everything  from  handle- 
bar to  pedal  was  stoutly  made.  Mrs.  Mcllrath  wore  the  ''rational" 
costume  so  often  derided  by  dress  reformers,  and  1  may  say 
here,  that  had  these  same  reformers  witnessed  the  advantage 
of  the  "rational"  costume  upon  some  of  the  haps  and  mishaps 
which  come  to  world'  s  tourists,  their  arguments  would  be  for- 
ever silenced.  All  of  our  luggage  was  carried  in  a  leather  case  which 
neatly  fitted  the  inside  angles  of  the  bicycle  frames.  Our  personal 
apparel  consisted  merely  of  a  change  of  underwear,  as  we  depended 
upon  the  stores  in  towns  along  our  route  for  new  clothes  whenever 
we  should  need  them.  The  remainder  of  our  luggage  cases  contained 
photograph  films,  medicines,  repair  outfits,  etc.  My  "artillery,"  for 
which  there  was  great  use  as  it  afterward  happened,  consisted  of  two 
3S-caliber  and  one  44-caliber  revolvers. 

To  cyclists  who  contemplate  a  trip  such  as  I  have  just  made,  or 
even  one  of  lesser  proportions,  I  can  say  that  these  three  cannon  are 
as  necessary  as  a  repair  kit.  They  come  in  handy  at  the  most  unex- 
pected times,  and  next  to  the  pistols,  I  know  of  no  better  arms  to 
carry  than  credentials  from  such  a  paper  as  the  Inter  Ocean.  My  cre- 
dentials were  necessary  before  we  had  been  three  hours  out  of  Chi- 
cago, since  through  them  we  escaped  an  arrest,  which  meant  certainly 
ten  days  or  ten  dollars.  It  happened  in  Melrose  Park.  We  had  come 
through  Garfield  Park  to  Washington  Boulevard,  through  Austin,  Oak 
Tark  and  Melrose  Park.  The  roads  were  abominable,  and  in  order 
to  take  to  the  Northwestern  tracks  we  were  forced  to  return  to  Mel- 

9 


10  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

rose  Park.  Being  overjoyed  at  the  sight  of  any  smooth  surface,  we 
could  not  resist  the  temptation  to  ride  on  the  sidewalks  of  this  pretty 
suburb.  Then  it  was  that  we  were  arrested.  I  pleaded  with  the  olti- 
cer  and  offered  to  pay  a  fine  without  the  delay  and  inconvenience  of 
standing  trial,  but  he  was  firm  in  refusing  to  release  us.  At  last  I 
showed  him  my  Inter  Ocean  credentials.  Just  as  promptly  he  let  us 
go,  and  remarking  to  a  fellow  officer  that  "it  did  not  pay  to  buck 
against  newspapers,"  he  went  so  far  as  to  assist  Mrs.  Mcllrath  on 
her  wheel  and  start  us  again  upon  our  way. 

When  we  took  the  Northwestern  tracks  at  Melrose  Park  our  party 
numbered  ten.  They  were:  Ed.  Porter,  Tom  Haywood,  William  Floyd, 
G.  M.  Williams,  A.  E.  Wood,  William  J.  Dilner,  J.  M.  Bacon,  F.  W. 
Mecheuer,  E.  M.  Lauterman  and  Miss  Annis  Porter.  So  far  as  Geneva, 
where  we  had  supper,  and  where  our  escort  left  us  to  return  to  Chicago, 
the  journey  was  without  event.  Two  and  a  half  days  out  from  Chicago 
we  were  in  Clinton,  Iowa.  We  met  friends  all  along  the  line  who 
extended  us  hearty  greetings.  Not  one  of  them  was  in  ignorance  of 
our  tour  and  the  Inter  Ocean  enterprise.  Farmers  called  to  us  from 
their  fields;  engineers,  as  they  whizzed  by  us,  saluted  with  their 
whistles,  and  passengers  in  the  coaches  behind  threw  us  notes,  fruits 
and  flowers.  Since  leaving  Chicago  we  had  eaten  four  meals  daily, 
sandwiched  with  countless  drafts  of  creamy  milk,  and  yet  the  cry 
arose  from  us  both,  "I  am  so  hungry."  But  the  farmers  were  generous 
and  Ave  were  never  refused,  and  wherever  remuneration  was  offered 
it  was  invariably  declined. 

We  v>ere  met  at  Clinton  by  a  party  of  twenty-five  wheelmen  and 
escorted  into  the  city.  Mrs.  Mcllrath  and  I  had  been  reinforced  by 
Messrs.  William  Boyd  and  J.  E.  Spofford  of  Dixon,  111.,  through  which 
city  we  had  passed;  Mrs.  Scoville,  who  had  been  our  hostess  at  Dixon, 
and  herself  so  ardent  a  wheelwoman  that  she  could  not  refrain  from 
joining  us  for  a  few  miles;  and  Harry  Ferguson,  a  son  of  State  Senator 
Ferguson  of  Sterling,  111.  When  we  left  Clinton  on  Saturday,  April  13, 
we  had  been  invited  by  the  press,  municipal  officers  and  the  entire 
cycling  fraternity  to  remain  over  for  Sunday,  which  was  Easter.  The 
bright  weather  and  the  prospects  of  good  roads,  however,  overweighed 
the  social  inducements,  and  we  started  at  4  o'clock  Saturday  afternoon. 
The  promises  of  good  weather  were  not  fulfilled,  and  Mrs.  Mcllrath 
and  I  spent  our  Easter  of  '95  on  the  road  in  mud  above  our  tires.  In  a 
chilling  rain  we  rode  into  Cedar  Rapids,  where  our  entertainment 
and  reception  was  royal.  Frank  Harold  Putnam  of  the  Merchants' 
National  Bank,  who,  it  is  needless  to  say,  is  a  devotee  of  the  wheel, 
nnd  his  sister,  Miss  Caroline  Putnam,  of  the  Saturday  Record,  Cedar 
Rapids'   society  journal,  gave  us  a   warm  greeting.    With   them   we 


12  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

dined  at  the  beautiful  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles  Bell  and  through 
them  we  received  from  Messrs.  C.  D.  Whelpley,  Ben  E.  Miller  and 
Harry  Hedges  of  the  Occidental  Cycling  Club,  a  letter  of  introduction 
to  the  Hon.  Nicholas  M.  Mclvor,  United  States  Consul  at  Yokohama. 
There  was  much  of  interest  to  record  during  our  stay  in  Cedar  Rapids, 
chief  of  which  was  our  visit  to  the  Indian  Reservation  near  Tama. 
Of  this  visit,  I  may  mention  that  the  squaws  and  the  noble  red  men 
which  came  under  our  observation  were  more  than  sucffiient  to 
disillusion  us,  who  had  been  fond  readers  of  Longfellow's  "Hiawatha." 
Hard  riding,  rain  and  the  consequent  exposure  had  got  in  its 
work  upon  me  by  the  time  we  struck  Marshalltown,  but  on  the  19th, 
in  spite  of  the  advice  of  physicians,  I  started  our  party,  being  aided 
in  the  carrying  of  luggage  by  Mr.  Ferguson,  who  remained  with  us. 
At  4:30  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  April  19  we  petlaled  into  Des 
Moines,  the  capital  of  Iowa.  The  dime  museum  man  was  on  the  alert 
for  us,  and  we  had  been  in  the  Kirk  wood  Hotel  scarcely  half  an  hour 
before  my  wife  and  I  were  offered  $25  an  hour  each,  for  four  hours'  ex- 
hibition of  ourselves.  It  is  a  waste  of  ink  to  say  that  the  offer  was 
declined  without  thanks.  Our  night  in  Des  Moines  was  the  most 
comfortable  we  had  yet  spent.  The  following  day  we  were  enter- 
tained at  the  State  House  by  Governor  and  Mrs.  Jackson  and  Private 
Secretary  Richards.  The  Governor  is  a  hearty  believer  in  better  roads 
and  he  is  an  admirer  of  cycling.  He  expressed  sincere  admiration 
for  the  world's  tour  awheel,  and  declared  his  admiration  for  the 
Inter  Ocean  in  furthering  such  a  project.  The  Des  Moines  Wheel  Club 
entertained  us  lavishly  in  the  evening,  though  while  at  the  club  house 
the  tour  of  the  globe  was  menaced  with  sudden  termination.  The 
brand  of  Marshalltown  fever,  which  I  carried  away  with  me,  was  such 
that  a  physician  ordered  me  promptly  to  bed.  The  sun,  I  am  con- 
fident, was  responsible  for  my  condition.  We  had  been  out  of  Chicago 
ten  days,  and  two-thirds  of  the  distance  was  done  over  railroad  beds. 
We  had  journeyed  almost  300  miles  over  ties  and  trestles,  suffering 
intermittently  with  paralysis  of  the  hands.  Often  we  were  compelled 
to  ride  along  a  narrow  shelf  scarcely  12  inches  in  width  just  outside 
the  track  and  ballast,  where  the  slightest  deviation  from  the  course 
would  have  caused  a  plunge  down  an  embankment  frequently  30  feet 
deep.  This,  too,  was  accomplished  upon  a  heavy  laden  wheel  with 
the  glare  of  the  burnished  steel  in  our  eyes.  My  physician's  advice 
was  that  I  remain  for  several  days  in  Des  Moines,  but  anxiety  to 
reach  the  coast  moved  me  to  depart  Sunday,  April  21.  Fifty  cyclists 
rode  out  of  town  with  us  and  saw  us  fairly  upon  our  hilly  ride  to 
Council  Bluffs.  Bad  weather  was  encountered,  delaying  our  arrival 
in  Council  Bluffs  until  April  23.    Wheelmen  from  Omaha  and  Council 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS.  13 

Bluffs  awaited  us  upon  the  outskirts  of  the  latter  named  city,  and  in 
triumph  we  rolled  into  that  splendid  center  of  the  Republic— Omaha. 
Here  we  found  that  the  veteran  Jack  Prince  had  stirred  much  enthu- 
siasm in  wheeling,  and  a  banquet  at  the  'Tump  House"  was  the  first 
of  the  chain  of  entertainment  in  store.  The  "Pump  House,"  it  should 
be  known,  is  a  handsomely  appointed  club  house  under  the  patronage 
of  the  Omaha  Wheel  Club.  Its  name  is  derived  from  a  large  pneumatic 
pump  which  stands  invitingly  to  all  cyclists  outside  of  the  main 
entrance.  Our  stay  in  Omaha  was  pleasant  and,  from  our  selfish 
standpoint,  only  too  brief.  When  we  started  away  the  afternoon  of 
April  25,  a  pretty  surprise  and  compliment  was  Mrs.  Mcllrath's  when 
she  found  her  wheel  literally  one  of  gorgeous  flowers.  Since  we  left 
Chicago  no  larger  crowd  has  wished  us  good-bye  than  the  one  in 
Omaha.  Our  friend  Ferguson  left  us  here,  stubbornly  refusing  to  bear 
back  with  him  our  cargo  of  souvenir  spoons.  These  precious  mementos 
are  all  very  well  in  their  way.  but  hardly  the  thing  for  two  persons 
who  intend  pedaling  their  way  over  the  world.  We  were  already 
threatened  with  having  to  charge  ourselves  excess  baggage.  Lincoln, 
the  capital  of  the  state,  turned  out  almost  to  a  man  to  receive  us.  The 
Capital  City  Cycling  Club  escorted  us  on  our  visit  to  Governor 
Holcomb,  to  whom  we  presented  a  letter  of  introduction.  It  was 
through  the  kindness  of  the  Governor  that  we  visited  the  State  Uni- 
versity, and  with  him  we  attended  the  theater  in  the  evening. 


CHAPTER  II. 

CYCLING  IN   A   HAIL-STORM — A   MEETING   WITH  A   ONE-LEGGED    WHEELMAN — 
"TOMMY   ATKINS"    JOINS   THE   PARTY— MT.    ROSA'S   BLIZZARD. 

Grand  Island,  Neb.,  is  a  small  city,  but  it  contains  more  wheelmen,  in 
proportion  to  its  size,  than  any  city  we  encountered.  There  are  two 
bicyclists'  clubs,  the  "Tourists"  and  "Orientals,"  the  former  an  organiza- 
tion composed  exclusively  of  ladies.  Splendid  delegations  from  both 
Indies  Mere  awaiting  us  outside  of  Grand  Island  the  morning  we  neared 
the  city.  En  route,  Mrs.  Mcllrath  experienced  an  accident  which  made 
me  fear  for  her  safety  of  limb,  as  well  as  fearing  that  we  should 
be  delayed  for  several  days.  About  ten  miles  east  of  Grand  Island, 
while  riding  the  railroad  tracks,  we  ran  into  a  hail-storm.  Mrs. 
Mcllrath.  with  her  head  between  her  shoulders,  was  driving  blindly 
In  the  face  of  the  fusillade  of  ice  bullets.  Unable  to  see  where  she 
was  going,  she  ran  straight  into  a  cattle  guard,  throwing  her  some 
twenty  feet  down  an  embankment,  and  bending  her  handle-bars  till 
they  met  above.    Our  stay  at  Grand  Island  was  limited,  and  we  pro- 


14  AROUND  THE-  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

ceeded  the  same  afternoon  to  Kearney,  at  which  city  we  arrived 
late  the  following  morning.  Our  party,  which  was  much  like  a  snow- 
ball, in  that  it  gathered  constantly,  was  augmented  at  Kearney  by 
Mr.  W.  B.  Walker.  The  trip  was  an  eventful  one  for  him,  and  probably 
changed  his  views  upon  the  matter  of  wheelmen's  costume.  Walker 
was  a  howling  swell  when  he  started  away  with  us.  His  Scotch 
clothes  were  models  of  the  tailor's  art,  his  cap  was  of  the  latest 
fashion,  and  his  stockings  were  positively  delirious  in  their  pattern. 
At  Shelby  we  struck  an  electrical  storm,  the  lightning  fairly  gliding 
along  the  rails  and  ofttimes  playing  about  our  plated  handle-bars. 
Walker  grew  frightened,  and  leaping  from  his  wheel  landed  squarely 
in  a  pool  of  water,  which  had  been  stagnant  until  stirred  by  the  heavy 
rain  shortly  before.  He  was  anything  but  the  dapper  looking  in- 
dividual of  Kearney  when  he  dragged  himself  from  the  pool.  He  got 
as  far  as  Cozad,  and  in  tones  of  disgust  he  bade  us  good-bye  to  return 
home  to  his  wardrobe. 

We  passed  the  night  at  Cozad,  leaving  there  at  noon  Tuesday. 
At  Gothenburg  we  were  met  by  Will  Edwards,  S.  P.  Anderson  and 
George  Roberts.  This  man  Roberts  is  a  marvel.  Some  years  ago  he 
had  the  misfortune  to  lose  his  right  leg,  but  put  him  on  a  wheel  and 
he  is  a  wonder  in  spite  of  his  affliction.  Through  the  sandy  soil  and 
mud.  this  man  could  even  outwind  Mrs.  Mcllrath  and  myself,  and  a 
picturesque  figure  he  was,  too,  as  he  glided  over  the  plains,  with  his 
one  leg  turning  the  pedal  like  a  steam  piston,  and  a  crutch  lashed 
over  his  back  like  a  musket.  The  boys  rode  with  us  to  North  Piatt, 
where  we  put  up  for  the  night.  North  Piatt  is  one  of  the  best  known 
cities  in  Nebraska,  made  so,  no  doubt,  by  its  being  the  home  of  Col. 
W.  F.  Cody,  famed  all  over  the  world  as  "Buffalo  Bill."  Cody  has  a 
magnificent  ranch,  which  is  virtually  a  present  from  the  United  States 
Government,  as  Uncle  Sam  donated  the  land  in  recognition  of  the 
Colonel's  valuable  services  as  scout  during  the  Indian  wars.  The 
ranch  is  called  "Scout's  Rest,"  and  is  managed  by  Mr.  J.  A.  Goodman, 
Col.  Cody's  brother-in-law.  Our  party  spent  a  delightful  day  at  the 
"Rest."  and  in  the  evening  we  were  driven  to  the  city  residence  of 
Col.  and  Mrs.  Cody. 

We  landed  upon  Colorado  soil  on  Friday,  May  3,  being  accompanied 
from  Big  Springs,  our  last  stop  in  Nebraska,  by  Messrs.  Weber  and 
Hoagland.  I  may  mention,  by  the  way,  that  Big  Springs  first  achieved 
notoriety  as  the  headquarters  for  the  James  gang.  There  are  men 
still  in  Big  Springs  who  delight  to  sit  by  the  hour  and  relate  their 
personal  experiences  with  the  daring  Jesse  and  Frank,  and  their 
fearless  followers.  As  we  landed  at  Julesburg,  our  first  stop  in  Colo- 
rado, on  May  3,   we  made  the  1,000-mile  mark,  the  actual  traveling 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  OX  WHEELS.  15 

time  being  fourteen  days,  which  I  did  not  consider  bad  in  view  of  our 
traveling  impedimenta  and  unfamiliarity  with  the  roads.  The  roughest 
traveling  we  had  yet  suffered  came  between  Red  Line  aud  Iliff.  Along 
the  line  we  found  the  natives  to  be  the  same  kind-hearted,  simple  folk 
that  cheered  us  on  our  way  through  Iowa  and  Nebraska.  As  an  in- 
stance of  the  good-natured  but  gruff  treatment  we  received,  I  cannot 
refrain  from  relating  an  experience  at  a  section-house  near  Stoneham. 
Mrs.  Mcllrath  was  thirsty.  For  nearly  six  hours  we  had  ridden  in 
the  blazing  sun  without  catching  so  much  as  a  sight  of  water.  Our 
joy  at  beholding  some  evidence  of  human  habitation  proved  almost 
too  much  for  her.  As  we  neared  the  section-house  the  little  woman 
was  all  but  in  tears,  and  so  impatient  that  she  could  hardly  make 
the  distance.  We  called  at  every  window  and  door  of  the  house,  but 
not  a  soul  replied.  1  peered  into  one  of  the  little  windows,  and  saw 
a  bucket  and  dipper  on  a  table.  Thinking  it  no  harm  to  enter  without 
the  owner's  permission,  I  tried  the  front  door,  and  to  my  bitter  dis- 
appointment I  discovered  it  locked  with  a  big  red  padlock,  bigger  and 
redder  than  those  the  sheriff  uses  when  he  closes  up  a  man's  business 
house.  Mrs.  Mcllrath  was  seated  on  the  ground  with  tears  rolling  down 
her  cheeks.  The  sight  of  her  distress  was  more  than  I  could  bear. 
I  was  on  the  point  of  attempting  to  break  the  windows  when  I  saw 
the  tiny  prints  made  by  the  wheels  of  a  baby  buggy  rolling  around 
the  house.  I  knew  at  once  that  the  family  could  not  be  far  away,  so 
leaving  my  wife  with  a  promise  to  return  shortly,  I  followed  the  tracks 
iif  the  baby  buggy  and  came  upon  the  entire  family  in  a  pasture 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  dwelling.  The  section  foreman 
greeted  me  in  friendly  tones,  and  asked  what  he  could  do.  I  told 
him  it  was  water  I  wanted,  and  then  as  a  guarantee  of  my  honest 
intentions,  I  jokingly  told  him  of  my  temptation  to  break  his  window. 

"Young  man,"  he  replied  sternly,  "you  are  a  fool.  If  my  wife 
had  been  thirsty,  and  I  could  have  found  an  ax,  I  shouldn't  have 
walked  this  far  to  ask  for  a  drink  of  water." 

To  appreciate  thirst,  or  rather  the  cause  for  it,  in  this  part  of  the 
country,  it  must  be  understood  that  all  water  is  brought  to  the  section- 
houses  in  barrels  by  the  railroad  company.  Not  a  drop  is  wasted,  the 
casks  are  watched  and  guarded  as  rigidly  as  the  fresh  water  casks 
on  a  steamer  at  sea.  Only  once  on  our  trip  were  we  refused  a  bite  to 
eat;  food  was  always  given  us  willingly  and  lavishly,  but  in  many 
places  it  was  like  pulling  teeth  to  get  a  cup  of  cold  water  from  some 
of  the  inhabitants.  On  May  0  we  covered  128  miles,  riding  over  cactus, 
prairie  and  sandy  desert.  In  the  afternoon  we  arrived  in  Denver, 
marking  our  1,200  miles  out  of  Chicago,  50Q  of  which  had  been  done 
over  railroad  ties.    Our  comfort  and   entertainment  in   Denver   were 


1G  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

looked  after  by  the  "Ramblers."  They  were  so  kind  to  us  that  I 
feared  we  would  be  handicapped.  I  mean  this  literally,  for  each 
member  seemed  to  think  that  he,  solely,  was  paying  Mrs.  Mcllrath  the 
compliment  of  a  souvenir  spoon.  It  seemed  impossible  for  us  to  get 
away  from  souvenir  spoons.  We  had  many  pounds  of  souvenir  spoons 
after  a  reception  on  the  evening  of  May  8,  at  the  Rambler's  Club  House. 
Poor  Mrs.  Mcllrath  wilted  when  we  reached  the  hotel,  and  with  a  look 
of  pleading  that  was  comical  to  behold,  she  sank  upon  the  bed  and 
exclaimed: 

"Oh,  Darwin,  how  on  earth  are  we  ever  to  get  around  the  world 
if  we  keep  on  adding  weight  to  our  clothes  and  traveling  cases!"  The 
reception  at  the  "Ramblers"  was  a  delightful  event,  and  one  which 
Mrs.  Mcllrath  and  I  often  talked  of  during  our  travels.  We  said 
good-bye  to  Denver  at  3  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  May  10.  An  escort 
of  "Ramblers"  followed  us  as  far  as  Colorado  Springs,  upon  the  out- 
skirts of  which  city  we  found  awaiting  us  Messrs.  C.  W.  Dawson, 
local  consul  for  the  L.  A.  W.,  A.  C.  Van  Cott  and  L.  J.  Wahl.  It 
was  at  Colorado  Springs  also  that  we  met  "Tommy  Atkins,"  who  was 
destined  to  be  our  steady  companion.  "Tommy  Atkins"  is  the  name 
which  we  gave  to  Merton  Duxbury,  an  Englishman,  who  had  left 
Providence,  R.  I.,  two  weeks  before  we  left  Chicago.  He  was  bound 
for  'Frisco,  and  by  hard  riding  had  arrived  in  Colorado  Springs  but 
an  hour  or  two  ahead  of  the  Inter  Ocean  tourists.  I  do  not  know  what 
we  should  have  done  without  Duxbury.  He  was  original  in  all  things,  a 
born  comedian,  in  fact,  though  he  himself  did  not  know  how  delightfully 
amusing  he  was.  If  Mrs.  Mcllrath  was  tired,  or  hungry,  or  thirsty, 
and  I  wished  to  make  her  forget  it,  I  had  only  to  call  "Tommy  Atkins," 
and  his  pranks  did  the  rest.  More  amusing  things  happened  to 
"Tommy"  than  one  could  find  by  attending  the  theater  nightly  for 
years.  Another  "joy"  in  human  form  joined  us  at  Manitou,  in  the 
person  of  "Jim"  P.  Anderson  of  Denver,  a  200-pound  cyclist  who 
was  trying  to  make  himself  thin  by  means  of  the  wheel.  He  asked 
permission,  which  was  readily  given,  to  become  one  of  us  for  a  short 
time.  With  all  regard  for  Anderson's  staying  qualities,  I  am  inclined 
to  believe  it  was  just  as  well  he  did  not  ask  to  remain  a  longer  time. 
But  for  the  largest  bottle  in  our  medicine  kit,  he  would  have  collapsed 
on  our  first  hard  ride  up  Cheyenne  Mountain  to  Cripple  Creek.  A 
storm  of  blended  raiu,  snow  and  sand  had  befallen  us  on  our  eight-mile 
climb  to  the  peak  of  Mount  Rosa,  and  at  its  thickest  the  gigantic 
Anderson  dismounted  from  his  wheel,  and  upon  his  knees  in  a  snow- 
drift he  offered  a  prayer  to  "dear,  good,  kind  Mr.  Mcllrath"  not  to 
try  to  go  farther,  but  to  set  back  for  the  tavern  at  the  base  of  the 
mountain.    Upon  this  point  I  was  immovable.    The  snow  blinded  the 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS.  17 

way  ahead  of  us,  but  I  insisted  that  we  push  on.  After  a  few  hundred 
yards  my  eyes  were  delighted  with  a  sign  reading,  '"Halfway  House, 
Mount  Rosa."  and  a  wooden  hand  pointing  up  the  mountain. 

rushing  our  snow-elogged  wheels  over  an  unbroken  track  we 
came  to  a  log  hut  just  back  of  the  welcome  sign,  and  there  we  dis- 
covered not  a  haven  of  rest  and  warmth,  but  a  deserted  house  with  its 
every  door  and  window  nailed.  Poor  Jim.  with  a  hoarse  cry.  threw 
himself  on  the  snow,  and  moaned  like  a  child.  Had  we  been  lost  in  a 
desert,  thousands  of  miles  from  aid,  the  situation  could  not  have  been 
more  dramatic.  Electricity  now  added  its  terrors  to  our  discomforts, 
and  with  a  sharp  crackling  sound  everything  assumed  a  pinkish  hue. 
Contact  with  each  other  produced  distinct  shocks,  and  if  our  fingers 
touched  the  wire  fence,  against  which  we  had  leaned  our  wheels,  tiny 
sparks  darted  from  their  tips  to  the  attractive  metal.  It  was  only 
the  grandeur  of  the  scene,  I  firmly  believe,  that  kept  Mrs.  Mcllrath 
upon  her  feet.  With  Anderson  it  was  no  joke.  The  poor  fellow  was 
worn  out,  and  the  altitude  had  an  effect  upon  his  lungs  that  threatened 
him  with  severe  hemorrhage.  But  "Tommy  Atkins"  stood  the  test 
nobly,  and  while  he  reassured  Mrs.  Mcllrath,  I  did  my  best  to  brace 
up  the  inconsolable  Anderson.  Duxbury  and  I  were  agreed  that  as 
long  as  the  sign  directing  us  to  the  Halfway  House  remained  standing 
there  must  be  a  Halfway  House  somewhere  not  far  up  the  road. 
Anderson  pulled  himself  together,  and  the  four  of  us.  pushing  our 
wheels  in  single  file,  found  the  Halfway  House  one  mile  away.  No 
palace  was  ever  more  attractive  to  the  eye  than  was  this  house  of 
plank,  with  its  unearpeted  floors  and  unvarnished  doors.  The  best 
meal  we  ever  had  was  had  in  this  hut.  We  passed  the  night  here,  and 
as  we  sat  about  the  dining-room  before  going  to  bed,  we  made  the 
acquaintance  of  Mr.  George  Bentley,  an  attorney  of  Colorado  Springs, 
who  was  en  route  to  Cripple  Creek  in  a  buggy.  The  meeting  with 
Bentley  was  most  fortunate  for  Anderson.  The  big  wheelman  lost  no 
time  in  getting  chummy  with  the  lawyer,  and  as  we  started  to  retire 
Anderson  surprised  us  all  by  exclaiming  in  the  most  matter-of-fact 
way:  'Well,  I  thank  you  Mr.  Bentley,  and  since  you  have  suggested 
it,  I  shall  be  glad  to  ride  to  Cripple  Creek  in  your  buggy  with  you 
to-morrow."  The  cunning  fellow  had  got  ahead  of  us,  and  he  thought 
it  a  great  joke.  With  his  wheel  tied  behind  the  buggy,  lie  ami  Bentley 
left  for  Cripple  Creek  at  8:30  o'clock  the  next  morning,  and  an  hour 
afterward  Mrs.  Mcllrath,  "Tommy  Atkins"  and  I  followed  in  their 
wake. 

We  had  been  on  the  road  an  hour  when,  from  a  man  we  met  on 
the  crest  of  one  of  the  hills  just  east  of  Love  Camp,  we  learned  that 
the  buggy  was  not  fifteen  minutes  ahead.    With  renewed  vigor  we  set 


18  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

out  to  make  up  the  time  down  that  and  every  succeeding  hill.    The 
first  hill  was  descended  in   safety   and   without  effort  we   rolled   up 
the  short  incline  and  plunged  down  the  next.    As  I  whizzed  along,  my 
wheel  bending  from  side  to  side,  I  felt  the  road  unusually  rough  and 
made  strenuous  efforts  to  slacken  my  speed.    Duxbury  was  just  ahead 
of  me  and  I  dared  not  remove  my  feet  from  the  pedals  for  fear  of 
running  him  down.    Nor  could  I  check  my  wheel  too  much,  or  Mrs. 
McIIrath  would  telescope  me  from  behind.    The  situation  was  a  trying 
one,  and  only  when  the  last  curve  was  reached,  and  I  had  successfully 
scraped    past    a    large    boulder     which     obstructed    a    clear     passage 
over  a  corduroy  bridge,  did  I  feel  safe.    The  place  I  had  just  passed 
was  a  most  dangerous  one.    The  bridge  was  narrow  and  the   gorge 
was  ten  or  twelve  feet  deep,  and  more  than  half  filled  with  rushing 
water  from   the   thawing   snow.    I   was   just   wondering   what   would 
save  one  from  death  if  a  ride  such  as  mine  should  terminate  in  striking 
a    boulder  in   the  path,    when   down   the    hill    rushed    my    wife.    The 
front  wheel  of  her  machine  struck  the  rock,  and  with  a  scream   the 
little  woman  was  thrown  foremost  on  the  stones  below,   and   disap- 
peared under  the  foaming  flood.  Horror  stricken,  for  a  moment  1  stood 
spellbound,   and   then   rushed   forward   expecting   to   find   her  terribly 
mangled,  if  not  killed  outright.    When  I  reached  the  stream  she  was 
clinging  to  a  crag,  half  the  time  completely  submerged,  her  wheel  about 
her  neck  like  a  frame.    Fortunately   she  was   unhurt  beyond   a  few 
scratches  and  a  bruise  on  the  left  cheek.    Strangling  and  coughing  she 
clung  to  the  rock  until  I  lifted  the  bicycle  from  about  her  and  then 
Duxbury  and  I  by  much  effort  raised  the  brave  woman  to  the  bank 
above.    Her  wheel  was  uninjured,  and  after  we  had  squeezed  some  of 
the  water  from  her  clothes,  we  ascended  the  "Divide"  and  pushed  on 
until  we  came  to  a  hut  bearing  a  sign,   "CRPL  KRK  Laundry."     A 
Chinaman  stood  in  the  doorway,  and  from  him  we  learned  that  Cripple 
Creek  was  just  over  the  hill.    When  we  reached  the  town   "Tommy 
Atkins"    escorted   Mrs.    McIIrath   to    our   hotel,    while    I    went    to    the 
postoffice  for  mail. 


CHAPTER  III. 

ENTERTAINED   BY   A   NATIONALLY     FAMED     CYCLIST — KRUEGER     BREAKS   THE 
COASTING   RECORD — TURNED   OUT   OF   SHELTER  AT   MIDNIGHT. 

Among  my  letters  was  one  bearing  a  check  from  the  Inter  Ocean,  and 
I  lost  no  time  in  going  to  the  bank  to  obtain  the  money  upon  it.  The 
cashier  required  strong  identification,  which  I,  being  a  stranger,  was  of 
course    unable  to  give.    I  then  applied  to  President  Lindsay  in  person. 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS.  19 

Mr.  Lindsay.  I  am  proud  to  record,  is  a  gentleman  who  reads  the  news- 
papers. He  had  already  heard  of  the  Inter  Ocean  cyclists,  and  when 
he  saw  me  he  said:  "My  friend,  you  appear  honest,  and  you  look  all 
you  say  you  are,  when  it  comes  to  riding  across  the  country.  It  is  a 
compliment  when  I  tell  you  that  you  almost  look  like  a  tramp.  Go 
get  your  money."  and  he  nodded  to  the  cashier.  At  the  hotel  I  found 
everybody  well  and  eating,  "Jim"  P.  Anderson  doing  some  especially 
good  work  with  a  knife  and  fork.  Mrs.  Mcllrath  had  dried  her  clothes 
and  was  none  the  worse  for  her  icy  bath.  Cripple  Creek  by  gaslight 
is  quite  an  attractive  place  for  a  "rounder,"  as  I  learned  that  evening, 
when  with  guides  the  gentlemen  of  our  party  visited  the  dance  halls, 
colored  people's  "rags"  and  free-and-easy  theaters  that  line  "Push 
Street."  The  next  day  was  spent  in  a  visit  to  the  El  Paso  and  other 
mines.  Friday.  May  28,  was  scheduled  for  our  departure,  but  rain 
made  it  impossible.  Saturday,  however,  we  got  away  at  6:30  in  the 
morning  for  Leadville  by  way  of  Florrisant,  Hartzel,  Buena  Vista  and 
Granite.  We  had  a  day  of  hard  riding,  and  by  8  o'clock  in  the  evening 
Mrs.  Mcllrath  was  ill  and  too  fagged  to  go  further.  After  supper  at 
the  house  of  a  road  overseer,  we  came  to  a  ranch,  where  we  applied 
for  shelter.  For  the  first  time  since  we  had  left  Chicago  we  were 
bluntly  refused.  Mrs.  Mcllrath  cried  aloud  when  a  gray-bearded,  hook- 
nosed old  man  told  her  that  he  had  uo  place  for  her  to  sleep.  I  argued 
to  him  that  she  was  ill,  but  he  shut  off  my  pleading  by  telling  me  that 
two  miles  away  was  a  hotel  that  had  been  built  expressly  for  the 
accommodation  of  invalids.  There  was  nothing  to  do  but  trudge  on  to 
this  hotel,  which  we  found  to  be  the  Hartzel  Springs  House,  owned  by 
and  named  for  the  gray-bearded  gentleman  who  had  without  courtesy 
closed  his  doors  in  our  face. 

We  started  Sunday  morning  on  a  60-mile  run  to  Buena  Vista,  fol- 
lowing the  railroad  tracks.  At  Hill  Top  we  unexpectedly  met  Editor- 
in-Chief  Martin  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  News,  and  several  other  writers 
from  the  Denver  papers.  They  fell  in  line  with  us,  but  wished  to  take 
their  time  in  admiring  the  beautiful  scenery;  but  upon  Duxbury's  sug- 
gestion that  we  "could  not  eat  the  blooming  scenery,"  they  relented 
and  Ave  pushed  on  to  Buena  Yista,  where  we  arrived  on  the  26th.  Here 
we  were  entertained  by  Ed.  Krueger,  now  a  cyclist  of  national  fame, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dean  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  C.  Jones.  The  following  day  we 
went  out  to  Hot  Springs  to  see  Krueger  attempt  to  break  the  world's 
five-mile  coasting  record.  After  dinner  at  the  Hot  Springs  hotel  we 
began  preparations  for  Krueger's  race.  The  wind  had  subsided  as  if 
especially  for  his  benefit.  He  was  net  satisfied  with  his  own  machine, 
believing  it  not  strong  enough  for  the  test,  so  he  used  my  wheel  with  his 
own  saddle,  handle-bars  and  pedals.    Dean,  Jones  and  Mr.  Mason  and 


20  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

myself  acted  as  timers,  and  Duxbury  officiated  as  starter.  At  4  o'clock 
Krueger  mounted  his  wheel  and  shot  down  the  hill.  Duxbury  bad  taken 
the  time  of  his  start,  and  it  was  left  for  us  to  note  the  moment  of  his 
arrival.  By  subtracting  the  difference,  and  also  splitting  the  variation 
of  time  in  the  watches  of  the  four  timers  at  the.  end  of  the  course,  we 
were  enabled  to  gain  a  fairly  accurate  estimate  of  the  traveling  time. 
Krueger  lost  both  pedals  half  way  down  the  incline,  but  he  curled  his 
feet  up  and  crossed  the  line  in  10  minutes  and  10  seconds,  which  I 
consider  wonderful.  We  started  the  next  morning,  May  28,  for  Lead- 
ville,  with  Krueger  also  in  the  party.  It  was  my  turn  for  a  disaster, 
and  I  came  near  bringing  the  Inter  Ocean  tour  to  a  finish.  In  crossing  a 
bridge  of  pine  logs  my  front  wheel  slipped,  and  with  one  foot  entangled 
in  the  spokes  of  the  rear  wheel  I  stood,  eyes  protruding,  staring  at  a 
black  rock  300  feet  below.  A  move  backward  with  one  foot  on  terra 
firma  might  prove  fatal,  and  to  attempt  to  disengage  the  other  foot 
meant  the  release  and  loss  of  the  bicycle.  Nothing  remained  but  to 
fall  backwards  on  the  hard  road  in  a  sitting  posture,  which  I  did,  and 
Mrs.  Mcllrath  rescued  me,  scolding  as  a  mother  would  a  disobedient 
child.  We  made  but  a  short  day  of  it  in  Leadville  for  various  reasons, 
principally  that  Duxbury  was  seized  with  the  hemorrhage  which 
threatened  him  on  Mount  Rosa.  At  5  in  the  afternoon  Ave  left  for 
Red  Cliffe,  35  miles  away.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Tennessee  Tass  Tun- 
nel, eleven  miles  from  Leadville,  we  were  overtaken  by  another  storm, 
mere  violent  than  any  Ave  had  yet  passed  through.  We  were  made 
prisoners  in  the  tunnel  for  an  hour  or  more,  the  dense  blackness  render- 
ing it  impossible  for  us  to  proceed  with  any  degree  of  safety.  Cautiously 
feeling  our  way  along  the  Avails  we  managed  to  emerge  from  the  tunnel 
and  in  the  night  to  pedal  along  to  the  nearest  section-house.  This 
turned  out  to  be  a  disused  box  car  with  bunks  built  along  the  sides  for 
the  section  hands.  The  section  boss,  a  kind-hearted  Irishman,  readily 
gave  us  permission  to  stretch  ourselves  on  the  floor  for  a  night's  rest. 
We  were  soon  asleep,  but  about  11  o'clock  he  waked  us  and  informed 
us  that  he  was  sorry,  but  he  could  not  help  being  forced  to  ask  us 
to  leave.  The  reason,  he  explained,  AA-as  that  his  wife  had  suddenly 
returned  and  that  she  was  the  real  "boss"  of  the  establishment.  As 
she  had  not  been  consulted  in  the  beginning  upon  the  matter  of 
having  us  for  lodgers  she  had  declined  to  let  us  remain  as  her  hus- 
band's guests.  I  begged  and  implored  but  Avithout  avail,  and  in  a 
storm  Ave  set  off  for  the  telegraph  office,  half  a  mile  away.  The 
operator  Avas  a  young  Avoman  and  the  sight  of  one  of  her  sisters  in 
distress  was  more  than  enough  to  win  an  invitation  to  make  our- 
selves as  comfortable  as  the  office  would  allow.  I  was  enraged  almost 
to  the  point  of  personal  violence  at  the  thought  of  an  ill-tempered 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS.  21 

woman's  whim  causing  us  such  needless  annoyance,  but  as  it  afterward 
transpired  our  experience  with  the  woman  section  boss  was  but  trivial. 
It  is  an  even  break  in  this  part  of  the  country  what  manner  of  treat- 
ment a  touring  wheelman  will  receive  at  the  hands  of  the  people. 

A  pleasant  surprise  was  ours  the  morning  we  rode  into  Glenwood 
Springs.  Colo.,  and  registered  at  the  palatial  Colorado  Hotel.  A  party 
of  Chicaiioaus.  composed  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  J.  Hynes,  Mrs.  Hynes" 
mother  and  sisler,  Mrs.  and  Miss  Way,  en  route  from  California,  were 
at  the  hotel  and  soon  made  themselves  known.  They  had  been  present 
at  one  of  the  Inter  Ocean  receptions  to  us  in  Chicago  and  the  pleasure 
of  meeting  was  therefore  doubled.  We  spent  the  night  at  Glenwood 
Springs,  leaving  the  morning  of  May  31.  An  accident  to  Mrs.  Mcllrath 
on  June  2  between  Palisades  and  DuBeque  delayed  us  the  greater 
part  of  the  week.  It  was  the  machine  that  suffered  the  real  dam- 
age, although  she  heiself  was  rendered  unconscious  for  half  an  hour. 
In  riding  over  a  sluice  she  took  a  tumble,  but  the  accident  was  not 
discovered  for  some  moments  afterward.  I  chanced  to  look  over  my 
shoulder  and  saw  her  figure  stretched  in  the  middle  of  the  road 
with  the  machine  a  shapeless  mass  by  her  side.  "Tommy  Atkins" 
and  I  worked  hard  to  revive  her,  and  the  walk  to  DuBeque,  six 
miles  ahead,  was  one  of  the  greatest  efforts  she  was  called  on  to 
put  forth  during  our  entire  journey.  There  was  no  repair  shop  in 
DuBeque,  and  it  was  evident  at  once  that  we  should  have  to  take  a 
freight  train  for  Grand  Junction,  the  nearest  point  at  which  we  might 
expect  repairs.  Our  stay  at  Grand  Junction  was  pleasant  in  the 
extreme,  and  we  certainly  did  not  begrudge  the  three  days  spent  in 
the  city  waiting  the  repairs  to  arrive  from  Chicago.  Friends  who 
had  heard  of  our  tour  met  us  at  Grand  Junction  and  straightway 
began  exerting  themselves  for  our  entertainment.  Their  program 
embraced  a  visit  to  Teller  Institute,  an  Indian  school  near  by,  and 
on  the  evening  oc  our  second  day  a  complimentary  dinner  was  given 
the  Inter  Ocean  tourists  by  Judge  Gray,  a  jolly,  300-pound  enthu- 
siast upon  all  topics  pertaining  to  the  wheel.  On  June  8  the  fork  for 
Mrs.  Mclirath's  wheel  arrived  from  Chicago,  and  an  hour  later  we 
were  ready  for  one  of  the  most  difficult  stages  of  our  entire  trip, 
that  of  crossing  290  miles  of  desert  between  Grand  Junction  and 
Springville.  Utah.  Tom  Roe,  known  to  every  cyclist  from  coast  to 
coast,  once  attempted  it  on  his  ride  from  San  Francisco  to  New  York 
City  and  failed,  .lohn  MeGuire,  editor  of  the  Cycling  West,  who 
has  wheeled  from  Denver  to  Salt  Lake  City  three  times,  never  suc- 
ceeded in  crossing  the  desert  entirely.  When  we  announced  that  it 
was  our  intention  to  make  it  without  a  break  from  boundary  to 
boundary,  there  was  a  general  laugh  of  ridicule  on  all  sides.    Every 


22  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

one  predicted  that  we  v.-oidd  fail  before  we  had  done  100  miles  from 
Grand  Ji.nctiqn.  We  left  at  noon  and  rolled  ont  on  the  white  sandy 
roads,  making  12  miles  before  the  first  stop.  The  great  diffi- 
culties of  our  trip  across  the  desert  proved  to  be  not  so  much  the 
hard  ploughing  through  sand  as  the  general  inhospitality  character- 
istic of  the  section  houses  which  dot  the  vast  waste.  The  section 
band:?  are  mostly  Italians  and  Chinamen,  with  a  fair  sprinkling  of 
Indians.  Asked  for  food  or  water,  they  either  would  not  or  pre- 
tended they  could  not' understand.  As  the  next  town  from  Pruita, 
our  first  stop,  was  (\~  miles  distant,  it  will  be  guessed  that  we  had 
many  a  trying  meeting  with  section  hands  before  we  came  to  a  hotel. 
We  had  been  led  to  expect  no  kindness  from  these  foreigners,  but 
"Tommy  Atkins"  and  I  had  sworn  to  win  to  our  side  every  man 
that  chance  placed  in  our  way.  Some  of  our  efforts  to  make  ourselves 
agreeable  in  hopes  of  a  hearty  welcome  were  ludicrous. 

At  a  ranch  near  Westwater  our  party  was  refused  shelter,  the 
mother  of  three  sons  residing  there  telling  us  that  the  boys  were 
away  from  home,  one  of  them  having  gone  to  the  next  settlement 
for  provisions.  The  pantry,  she  said,  was  all  but  empty,  and  were 
she  to  take  in  three  hungry  persons  like  myself,  Mrs.  McTlrath  and 
Duxbury,  there  would  be  nothing  left  by  the  next  morning.  It  was 
an  uncertainty  when  the  supplies  were  to  arrive  and  a  former  experi- 
ence had  made  her  firm  in  her  intentions  to  take  no  risks  when  food 
promised  to  be  scarce.  Our  combined  entreaties  weakened  the  old 
lady  to  the  extent  that  she  consented  to  take  in  Mrs.  Mcllrath  at  least. 
She  warned  us  that  Mrs.  Mcllrath  would  have  nothing  to  eat  but 
bread  and  milk,  but  then  even  bread  and  milk  seemed  more  than  a  din- 
ner at  Chicago's  best  hotel,  and  leaving  my  wife  with  her  benefactress, 
Duxbury  and  I  went  forth  determined  to  charm  the  Italians  at  the 
section  house  we  had  passed  a  few  miles  back.  As  soon  as  we  had 
convinced  the  Italians  that  we  were  not  in  the  service  of  the  railroad 
as  private  detectives,  or  that  we  were  not  a  pair  of  the  thousands  of 
tramps  making  the  journey  from  coast  to  coast  on  foot,  they  not 
only  gave  us  supper  but  volunteered  permission  to  spend  the  night 
before  their  fire.  When  Ave  started  the  next  morning  I  offered  money 
to  the  section  boss,  but  he  declined  it,  saying  I  could  repay  him  by 
delivering  a  letter  which  he  handed  me,  addressed  to  his  brother  at 
a  section  house  a  few  hundred  miles  ahead. 

As  I  have  remarked  before,  the  scarcity  of  water  in  this  part  of 
the  country  necessitates  the  shipment  of  it  to  the  section  houses  and 
stations  by  the  railroads.  This  same  scarcity  of  water  was  indirectly 
responsible  for  a  serious  accident  to  my  bicycle.  I  mention  it  here 
to  show  wheelmen  what  can  be  accomplished  in  the  way  of  impromptu 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS.  23 

repairing  when  the  emergency  demands  it.  The  tramps  who  steal 
rides  on  the  freight  trains  never  go  without  a  bottle  or  a  tin  can 
of  water.  As  these  vessels  are  drained  of  their  precious  contents  at 
different  intervals  along  the  roadbed,  "Weary  Willie"  is  in  the  habit 
of  throwing  them  away.  The  result  is  that  the  tracks  for  miles  and 
miles  are  spangled  with  bits  of  sharp  glass  and  tin.  I  was  not  aware 
of  the  risk  I  was  taking  with  my  tire  until  I  ran  over  one  of  these 
"mines."  There  was  an  explosion  like  a  shotgun,  and  when  I  found 
myself  on  the  ground  I  realized  that  it.  was  not  the  "mine"  that  had 
exploded,  but  my  pneumatic.  The  puncture  was,  properly  speaking, 
a  gash  three  inches  long  in  the  tire  of  my  rear  wheel.  Here  was  a 
pretty  state  of  affairs!  Not  a  dealer  in  supplies  or  a  repair  shop 
within  100  miles,  and  not  one  of  the  party  with  a  complete  repair  kit. 
There  seemed  no  alternative  but  a  long  walk  to  the  nearest  section 
house  or  ranch,  there  to  await  until  "Tommy  Atkins"  could  make  the 
next  town  and  express  me  the  needed  material.  But  "necessity  is  the 
mother  of  invention,"  and  under  the  press  of  circumstances  I  hit 
upon  a  scheme  which  afterward  proved  to  work  like  a  charm.  First, 
I  wet  the  edges  of  the  rent  Avith  cement,  sewing  them  together  super- 
ficially, or,  as  the  ladies  would  say,  I  "basted"  them.  Then  I  made 
a  covering  out  of/pieces  of  a  buckskin  glove,  moistened  with  medicines 
from  one  of  my  vials.  This  covering  I  stretched  on  as  tightly  as  possi- 
ble over  the  gap.  Now  came  a  coat  of  cement,  then  the  tire  tape 
covering  all,  and  my  repair  was  as  complete  as  I  could  make  it  until 
a  cycle  supply  house  could  be  found  or  my  advance  luggage  reached. 
I  did  not  jump  on  my  wheel  and  ride  directly,  realizing  that  until 
the  buckskin  had  dried  and  shrunken  nothing  was  to  hold  the  parted 
ends  of  tire  but  a  few  Blight  stitches.  Mrs.  Mcllrath  then  came  for- 
ward with  a  suggestion  which  was  acted  upon  and  proving  itself 
to  be  one  of  much  wisdom.  It  was  that  she  take  my  mended  tire  and 
place  it  on  her  front  wheel,  where  the  pressure  would  be  slightest, 
putting  her  front  tire  upon  the  rear  wheel  of  my  machine.  For 
the  benefit  of  doubting  wheelmen,  I  must  add  that  with  three  infla- 
tions daily,  the  crude  mend  held  itself  and  answered  purposes  until 
Salt  Lake  City  was  reached  a  week  later. 


24  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

UTAH'S     STOCK     OF     LIZARDS     AND      SNAKES — "TOMMY     ATKINS'  "      NARROW 
ESCAPE — AT    "THE   HERMITAGE"    IN   OGDEN   CANYON. 

Utah  I  found  to  be  full  of  snakes,  lizards  and  swollen  streams. 
Mrs.  Mcllrath,  Duxbury  and  I  bad  personal  encounters  in  this  direc- 
tion and  our  escapes  were  thrilling.  It  was  on  our  way  to  Thistle 
Junction  Gap  that  Duxbury  sprinted  ahead,  promising  to  meet  us  at  the 
next  railroad  crossing.  How  he  came  to  wind  up  on  the  side  of  a 
foaming  torrent  is  beyond  me  to  explain.  I  know  only  that  wheu 
we  came  to  the  appointed  meeting  place,  my  wife  and  I  stood  upon 
one  side  of  a  miniature  river  with  the  hapless  "Tommy  Atkins''  on 
the  other  bank.  He  was  in  a  bad  fix,  for  he  could  not  swim— bye 
the  bye,  a  most  uncommon  thing  among  Englishmen.  He  called  for 
aid  and  without  thinking  that  the  man  would  be  so  rash  as  to  follow 
my  instructions,  I  told  him  to  wade  across.  He  thereupon  walked 
into  the  water  and  there  came  very  nearly  being  some  work  for 
the  coronei\  With  his  wheel  held  high  above  his  head  he  walked 
boldly  into  midstream  until  he  came  to  a  step-off.  I  called  to 
him  to  be  cautious  and  not  to  move  from  where  he  was.  With  the 
warning  I  walked  from  the  oppsite  bank  ready  at  any  moment  to 
strike  out  with  swimming  strokes,  but  I  ascertained  that  though 
the  current  was  rapid,  the  water  was  no  deeper  than  where  Dux- 
bury stood  submerged  to  his  shoulders.  Lifting  the  wheel  I  led  the 
way  back  to  the  bank,  where  "Tommy"  stretched  himself  in  the 
sun  to  dry.  Had  the  boy  not  possessed  nerve  and  retained  his  pres- 
ence of  mind  I  fear  we  should  have  seen  the  last  of  him  when  he 
made  his  unlooked-for  descent. 

Continuing  our  journey  through  Jordan  Valley.  Mrs.  Mcllrath  rode 
some  distance  ahead  of  us.  We  were  startled  by  shrieks,  and  it  was 
my  first  thought  that  she  had  ridden  over  a  snake.  Duxbury  and  I 
hastened  to  her  and  discovered  her  standing  by  her  wheel  with  a 
number  of  lizards  gliding  their  way  through  the  grass  and  sand  at  her 
feet.  To  show  her  that  the  silent  crawlers  were  not  poisonous,  I 
picked  one  up  in  my  hand,  and  was  making  bold  with  the  ugly  thing 
when  a  sharp  rattle  attracted  my  attention.  Looking  to  one  side,  but 
a  few  paces  away,  I  saw  a  five-foot  rattler  coiled  as  if  to  strike,  and 
moving  his  fangs  threateningly.  My  44-ealiber  revolver  settled  Mr. 
Snake  and  the  encounter  also  came  near  settling  Mrs.  Mcllrath.  She 
was  so  nervous  from  the  shock  that  it  was  with  difficulty  we  proceeded 
to  Springville.  By  a  mistake  of  the  telegraph  operator  we  missed  the 
Springville  reception  committee,  and  proceeded  straight  on  to  Provo 
City,  where  we  spent  the  night.    The  next  day  Mayor  Holbrook,  James 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS.  25 

Clave,  editor  of  the  Inquirer,  Robert  Skelton  and  a  dozen  of  the  Provo 
City  wheelmen  called  upon  us  and  offered  us  the  keys  of  the  town. 
They  inivted  us  to  spend  several  days  with  them,  mapping  out  a 
program  of  lavish  entertainment  This  we  were  forced  to  decline,  as 
we  were  impatient  to  get  into  Salt  Lake  City  for  bicycle  repairs  and 
sundry  changes  in  our  much  dilapidated  toilet.  We  arrived  in  Salt 
Lake  City  the  morning  of  June  15,  under  the  guidance  of  the  Social 
Wheel  Club.  Sunday,  the  club  members  took  us  on  a  "Strawberry  Run" 
to  Farmington.  though  the  acceptance  of  this  invitation  necessitated 
declining  one  to  attend  the  run  of  the  Wasatch  Wheelmen.  In  the  evening 
with  Mr.  Goode,  Mr.  Lenne  of  Chicago.  Duxbury  and  myself  went  out 
to  Saltair.  the  great  resort  a  few  miles  from  the  city.  On  June  19  we 
were  guests  of  the  Reck  Hot  Springs  Bicycle  Club,  where  we  watched 
the  ''cracker jacks"  of  Salt  Lake  City  and  Ogden.  This  track  is  one  of 
the  best  I  have  seen  upon  my  travels.  "Rig  Bill"  Richel,  editor  of  the 
Rocky  Mountain  Cyclist,  a  man  who  has  done  much  good  work  in 
building  up  interests  in  wheeling  throughout  the  West,  is  a  prime 
factor  in  the  racing  meets  at  Reck  Hot  Springs,  and  he  has  invariably 
arranged  for  a  first-class  article  of  sport.  Our  entertainment  in  Salt 
Lake  City  was  upon  so  extensive  a  scale  that  I  had  no  more  than 
enough  time  to  prepare  my  Inter  Ocean  letters  and  to  send  our  wheels 
to  the  repair  shop. 

We  left  Salt  Lake  City  on  June  2.°.,  an  escort  of  thirty  accompanying 
us  West  as  far  as  the  Grant  Homestead,  where  a  stop  was  made  for 
dinner.  We  arrived  in  Ogden  the  following  day.  expecting  to  leave 
in  the  evening,  as  we  had  a  full  moon  to  ride  by  at  night.  The  paralysis 
of  the  hands  and  arms,  from  which  both  Mrs.  Mcllrath  and  myself  had 
been  acute  sufferers,  came  over  me  again  at  Ogden.  and  caused  a  week's 
stop  instead  of  a  day.  I  consulted  a  physician,  who  imperatively  ordered 
that  I  take  a  course  of  treatment  at  Utah  Hot  Springs,,  situated  ten 
miles  out  of  Ogden.  Before  we  entered  into  our  week's  seclusion,  a 
number  of  the  represent.! live  wheelmen  of  Ogden  were  determined  that 
we  should  visit  the  greatest  of  all  Utah  resorts,  "The  Hermitage,"  in 
Ogden  Canyon.  On  Tuesday.  June  25,  a  party  comprising  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  W.  Beardsley,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  F.  Sherwood,  F.  C.  Scramm.  Editor 
Thomas  of  the  Tress,  J.  W.  Warner  and  the  Inter  Ocean  tourists  rude 
slowly  up  the  steep  grades  into  the  rocky  boundaries  of  the  Canyon. 
"The  Hermitage"  is  a  sequestered  little  house,  five  miles  up  the  gorge, 
ensconced  in  a  natural  cleft  in  the  mountain  side,  and  facing  upon  the 
rushing,  foaming  Ogden  River.  We  rode  to  "The  Hermitage  '  without 
a  stop.  Standing  in  the  doorway  in  his  shirt  sleeves,  arms  akimbo. 
was  the  famous  "Billy"  Wilson.  In  all  Ogden  there  is  no1  a  character 
so  well  known  as  "Billy"  Wilson.    He  is  a  brawny  Scot,   with  a  sun- 


26  AROUND  THE  WORLD  OX  WHEELS. 

burned  face,  clear  blue  eyes  and  a  luxuriant  growth  of  sandy  hair  and 
whiskers,  and  he  possesses  the  most  charming  dialect  that  was  ever 
imported  from  the  unconquered  land  of  the  thistle.  I  did  not  at  all 
mind  my  week  as  an  invalid,  for  I  had  eight  hours  a  day  aside  from 
my  treatment  by  a  physician  to  devote  to  sight-seeing.  There  was  but 
one  disagreeable  feature  in  connection  with  the  sojourn  at  Utah  Hot 
Springs,  and  that  was,  the  loss  of  "Tommy  Atkins."  For  his  own 
reasons,  which  he  explained  to  me,  Tommy  decided  to  go  it  alone,  and 
he  left  on  June  26  to  pedal  his  way  alone  to  the  Golden  Gate. 

The  Inter  Ocean  cyclists  left  Ogden  on  July  2,  putting  in  to  Corinne 
for  the  night.  Corinne  is  distinctive  in  Utah  as  strictly  a  Gentile 
town,  the  sight  of  a  mormon  at  any  time  being  rare.  The  morning  of 
the  great  and  glorious  Fourth,  Mrs.  Mcllrath  and  I  started  from  Corinne 
to  celebrate  the  day  with  a  long  run  over  the  sandy  plains.  As  we 
crossed  the  tracks  in  front  of  the  hotel  and  turned  into  the  smooth 
road  leading  to  Blue  Creek  a  freight  train  started  from  the  depot  a 
few  rods  back  of  us.  The  morning  was  cool,  and  calling  to  my  wife  to 
keep  my  rear  wheel  in  sight.  I  set  out  to  hold  that  freight  train  level 
as  long  as  possible.  I  had  been  informed  that  a  chain  of  foothills 
that  loomed  up  like  a  bank  of  blue  fog  in  the  distance,  was  seven 
miles  away,  and  as  the  grade  was  up,  I  was  determined  to  lead  the 
engineer  a  merry  dance  ere  we  tipped  over  the  hill  and  gravity  helped 
the  iron  horse  in  his  race  against  my  steel-tubed  speeder.  Over  the 
road  we  flew,  the  chug-chug  of  the  engine  growing  fainter,  until  we 
lost  it  altogether.  I  knew  this  was  only  the  start,  and  bending  over 
my  handle-bars  I  sent  my  wheel  along  with  a  whir.  Mrs.  Mcllrath 
held  on  nobly,  and  when  three  and  a  half  miles  had  been  covered,  the 
engine  was  still  beyond  our  hearing.  We  kept  on  "jumping  on  the 
pedals"  and  when  we  tipped  over  the  hills,  seven  miles  from  Corinne,  the 
sound  of  the  locomotive's  exhaust  was  barely  audible.  With  the  grade 
in  our  favor  we  fairly  made  things  1mm.  My  cyclometer  ticked  with  a 
continuous  rattle  like  an  old-fashioned  watchman's  signal.  And  now 
the  engineer  of  the  train  seemed  to  enter  into  the  spirit  of  the  race. 
He  tooted  short  blasts  at  us  as  he  ga'ned  ground  and  his  train  caught 
the  impetus  afforded  by  the  grade.  The  crew  also  took  part  in  the 
fun,  and  from  the  top  of  the  cars  and  caboose,  they  gave  us  the  "come- 
on"  signals  when  the  little  red  coach  tripped  around  the  curve  like  the 
last  flame  of  a  shooting  star.  And  then  we  were  alone  on  the  desert 
of  Western  Utah. 

Seven  miles  further  on,  we  came  to  the  end  of  the  main  ditch 
of  the  Bear  River  Canal  Company.  There  we  met  a  gang  of  men 
who  reported  having  met  "Tommy  Atkins"  nine  days  ahead.  This 
was  the  first  tidings  we  had  received  of  the  merry  Englishman,  and  it 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  OX  WHEELS.  27 

was  most  welcome  news.  The  exciting  ride  of  the  day  caused  ns  to 
forget  that  it  was  the  Nation's  birthday,  until  we  passed  Bradley's 
Ranch  and  gazed  upon  the  Stars  and  Stripes  gayly  floating  from  a  tall 
staff  in  front  of  his  house.  Bradley  saluted  us,  and  in  reply  to  our 
question  if  we  might  send  any  news  of  him  to  friends  in  the  East,  he 
proudly  answered:  "Tell  them  that  Old  Glory  waves  over  Bradley's 
Ranch  the  same  as  it  does  over  the  postoffice  in  Chicago  on  the  Fourth 
of  July."  I  had  calculated  upon  spending  the  night  at  Kelton.  We 
arrived  there  for  supper  and  found  the  one  hotel  of  the  town  in 
undisputed  possession  of  a  gang  of  cowboys,  who  were  celebrating  the 
Fourth  in  approved  Western  style.  Whisky  was  tapped  by  the  barrel, 
and  there  were  indications  of  a  beer  famine  soon  to  come.  The  men 
were  good-natured  for  the  most  part,  but  so  noisy  with  their  fun  that 
Mrs.  Mcllrath  concluded  Kelton  was  no  place  for  her,  and  we  moved 
on  in  the  direction  of  a  ranch  where  we  had  been  told  we  might  be 
accommodated  with  lodging.  I  was  three  hours  cruising  around  the 
plains  trying  to  find  this  ranch,  and  had  almost  come  to  the  opinion 
that  no  such  place  existed.  The  moon  had  gone  down  and  it  was 
difficult  riding  in  the  dark.  I  ran  into  what  I  considered  an  embank- 
ment, and  was  thrown  from  my  wheel,  then  the  embankment  gave  a 
loud  snort  and  a  scream  from  Mrs.  Mcllrath  behind  let  me  know 
that  she  had  also  been  in  a  collision.  We  had  struck  in  the  blackness 
a  herd  of  cows,  all  lying  down  and  peacefully  chewing  their  cuds.  This 
I  took  as  evidence  that  the  ranch  was  a  reality,  and  again  I  began 
the  search  for  the  house,  this  time  riding  squarely  into  a  barb-wire 
fence.  Following  the  line  of  the  Wire  I  came  to  the  dwelling,  a  pros- 
perous-looking abode,  painted  and  adorned  with  a  veranda  and  curtains 
in  the  window.  All  knocks  and  calls  were  unanswered,  which  led  me 
to  believe  thai  the  family  could  be  not  far  away,  probably  attending 
a  Fourth  of  July  celebration  in  the  vicinity.  Mrs.  Mcllrath  and  I  sat 
down  on  a  log  to  await  their  return.  After  an  hour's  silent  vigil,  my 
watch  told  me  that  it  was  long  after  midnight.  The  air  had  grown 
raw  and  the  wind  chilling.  I  built  a  fire  in  the  front  yard  and  made  a 
place  for  Mrs.  Mcllrath  to  lie  down.  To  those  of  my  readers  who  have 
tried  to  sleep  before  a  camp  fire  without  blanket  Mrs.  Mcllrath* S  dis- 
comfort will  be  readily  understood.  I  curled  up  behind  her,  doing  as 
best  1  could  to  keep  off  the  wind,  and  thus  she  was  enabled  to  derive 
several  hours'  slumb<  r.  but  as  for  myself,  I  was  almost  frozen  when 
I  waked  at  five  the  next  morning,  and  learned  that  the  family  had 
been  absent  over  night.  By  this  time  I  was  desperate,  and  with  one 
of  my  small  pistols  I  bowled  over  two  fat  chickens  that  were  cackling 
around  the  yard.  I  was  ready,  had  I  been  surprised  by  the  owner, 
to  pay  liberally  for  the  pullets,   and   consequently  I   felt  no  sting  of 


28  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

conscience  for  my  tramp-like  behavior.  The  fire  was  replenished,  and 
while  Mrs.  Mcllrath  dressed  the  chickens  in  a  crude  fashion,  picking 
them  in  hot  water  boiled  in  a  tin  can  which  I  had  found  on  the  back 
porch,  I  skirmished  the  premises  in  hopes  of  digging  up  some  old 
utensil  of  the  kitchen  with  which  to  cook  them.  I  could  find  nothing, 
but  my  inventive  mind,  the  same  which  prompted  me  to  patch  a  tire 
with  a  buckskin  glove,  came  to  the  rescue  when  my  eyes  alighted  on 
a  piece  of  stovepipe.  It  was  old  and  rusted  and  had  been  thrown  away 
evidently  months  before.  I  smashed  its  circular  shape  flat,  scraped 
off  the  rust,  and  that  served  as  our  frying  pan.  For  breakfast  that 
morning,  we  had  fried  chicken,  not  cooked  Maryland  style,  to  be  sure, 
but  nevertheless  sufficient  to  stave  off  hunger  until  noon.  The  family 
had  still  not  yet  returned,  as  we  prepared  to  leave,  and  telling  Mrs. 
Mcllrath  that  we  would  be  far  away  when  their  anger  exploded  and 
that  we,  ourselves,  would  never  be  suspected,  the  blame  for  the 
depredation  doubtless  being  placed  upon  the  shoulders  of  some  unfor- 
tunate hobo,  we  mounted  our  wheels  and  steered  away  in  the  direction 
of  the  Nevada  State  Line.  I  was  unable  to  learn  the  name  of  the 
people  at  whose  ranch  we  had  stopped  and  whose  chickens  I  had  appro- 
priated, but  if  they  should  ever  come  across  this  book,  I  should  like 
them  to  know  that  our  intentions  were  honest  at  least,  and  that  we 
should  have  paid  for  our  breakfast  could  we  have  met  anybody  to 
take  the  money. 

Ry  looking  at  our  cyclometers  we  ascertained  that  eighty-four  miles 
had  been  covered  on  the  Fourth  of  July.  We  had  hard  riding  the  next 
day,  arriving  at  Lucin  at  11  o'clock  at  night.  For  once  in  the  life  of 
somebody,  a  little  intemperance  served  a  good  purpose.  The  section 
boss  at  Lucin  lived  alone  in  a  neat  cottage,  with  his  Italian  and  Chinese 
laborers  in  quarters  a  couple  of  hundred  yards  away.  The  section  boss, 
whose  name  is  of  no  consequence  here,  had  celebrated  the  Fourth  too 
vigorously.  The  depression  which  followed  and  the  loneliness  of  his 
surroundings  had  thrown  him  into  a  state  of  nervousness  that  made 
him  jump  like  a  man  shot  if  one  but  snapped  his  fingers  behind  him. 
The  sight  of  company  was  the  best  medicine  he  could  have  had,  and 
before  we  had  an  opportunity  to  ask  him  for  shelter,  he  had  over- 
whelmed us  with  an  invitation  to  come  in  and  stay— stay  a  week  if  we 
only  would.  We  came  to  Nevada  on  July  6,  with  a  register  of  2,2S3 
miles  to  our  credit,  made  since  leaving  the  ofnee  of  the  Inter  Ocean. 
This  represented  a  daily  average  of  57^  miles.  At  Tecoma,  our  first 
stopping  place  in  the  state,  we  found  an  inquisitive  crowd  awaitiug  us. 
As  the  crowd  was  in  Tecoma,  so  it  proved  to  be  throughout  Nevada. 
Everywhere  the  people  understood  fully  who  we  were,  where  we  were 
from  and  the  auspices  under  which  we  journeyed,  but  we  had  difficulty 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  OX  WHEELS.  29 

in  convincing  them  that  we  were  not  dead-broke  and  that  we  were  not 
touring  the  globe  for  a  wager.  There  have  been  so  many  queer  trips 
recently  made  by  men  who  start  out  penniless  to  receive  thousands  of 
dollars  upon  the  culmination  of  their  journey  that  the  public,  I  noted, 
had  grown  to  expect  all  sorts  of  hard  luck  stories  from  tourists  whose 
mode  of  travel  was  any  other  than  the  railroad.  But  for  all  their 
suspicions  of  us.  they  were  indulgent  and  good-natured,  and  never  once 
were  we  mistreated  or  insulted.  Nevada  also  gave  us  the  hardest  work 
in  moving  through  the  United  States.  The  sands  and  head-winds  were 
fifty  per  cent  more  exhausting  than  the  distances,  and  the  132  miles  we 
made  the  clay  we  entered  Denver  did  not  tire  us  one-half  as  much  as 
the  01  miles  we  covered  on  July  7,  the  day  we  rode  into  Halleck. 


CHAPTER  V. 


HALTED    BT    VIGILANTES    AND  AN    ESCAPE  FROM    LYNCHING   IN  NEVADA — A 
DELIGHTFUL  RECEPTION  AT  RENO — ON  THE  STEAMER  FOR  JAPAN. 

The  morning  of  July  8  we  set  forth  for  Elko,  twenty-six  miles  away. 
Mrs.  Mcllrath  and  I  were  moving  along  at  a  good  gait,  when  a  band 
of  horsemen  overtook  us  near  Osina.  They  dashed  across  our  path 
and  dismounted  simultaneously,  closing  in  upon  us.  The  leader 
approached  me  with  a  command  to  open  my  mouth  and  display  my 
teeth.  I  thought  it  was  a  joke  aud  demanded  to  know  who  was  the 
dentist  in  the  party.  "None  of  your  nonsense,"  growled  the  leader, 
"let's  see  your  teeth."  My  jaws  immediately  Hew  back  as  far  as  nature 
would  permit  and  the  leader  looked  down  my  throat  searchingly.  "No, 
boys;  'taint  Brady,"  he  called,  and  then  it  was  my  time  to  do  some 
talking.  Their  explanation  in  brief  was  that  they  were  hunting  for 
one  Brady,  a  bandit  who  had  been  running  wild  throughout  for  weeks. 
He  was  aboul  my  size,  they  said,  quite  as  likely  to  be  dressed  as  a 
wheelman  as  anything  else,  and  the  sole  unfailing  marks  of  identifi- 
cation in  their  possession  were  the  gold  fillings  in  his  molars.  Goodness 
knows,  what  would  have  happened  to  me  had  1  been  the  owner  of 
ninny  gold-plugged  teeth.  I  might  have  been  shot  on  the  spot,  or 
lynched,  or  at  any  rate  dragged  to  jail  with  days  of  delay  and  humilia- 
tion before  me  ere  I  could  make  myself  properly  known.  We  put  in  a 
day  and  a  night  at  Elko  and  resumed  the  journey  on  Wednesday, 
July  10.  The  first  six  miles  of  going  outside  of  Elko  were  as  good  as 
any  Eastern  roads  I  have  ever  traveled,  but  the  white  dust  which 
fills  the  air  makes  it  advisable  for  all  tourists  to  ride  with  gloves  and 
their  caps  well  down  upon  the  head.  When  this  dust  mingles  with 
perspiration  on  any  exposed  part  of  the  body  it  smarts  and  burns  like 


30  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

a  powerful  acid.  Our  tires  suffered  also  and  one  by  one  the  punctures 
repaired  in  Salt  Lake  City  began  to  let  go.  Every  revolution  brought 
out  a  hiss  like  an  angry  serpent.  By  pumping  every  half  mile  we 
managed  to  get  into  Golconda  on  July  12,  having  made  24  miles  in 
seven  and  a  half  hours,  the  hardest  traveling  we  had  yet  known.  It 
was  20  miles  further  to  Winnemucca,  which  we  covered  easily  next  day, 
halting  in  the  town  for  repairs.  On  July  17.  we  were  again  on  the 
road,  leaving  Lovelocks,  but  we  could  make  only  three  miles  an  hour 
in  the  sand  and  were  forced  to  return  to  the  station  in  order  to  take 
to  the  railroad  tracks. 

Two  miles  from  the  Nevada  Hot  Springs,  by  riding  the  railroad 
trestles,  my  front  wheel  played  me  another  one  of  its  tricks  and  threw 
me  down  a  twelve-foot  embankment.  Scrambling  back  to  the  trestle, 
I  picked  up  my  wheel  with  its  handle-bars  snapped  in  two.  My  photo- 
graphic outfit  was  spilled  and  the  camera  broken.  The  most  expea 
wheelman  cannot  ride  over  Western  roads  without  his  handle-bars. 
I  sent  Mrs.  Mcllrath  ahead  while  I  gathered  up  my  belongings  and 
pushing  the  wheel  before  me,  I  set  out  to  walk  to  the  section  house 
at  Desert,  ten  miles  away.  As  I  journeyed  along  the  railroad  tracks, 
bewailing  my  plight  and  rebelling  at  the  three  hours'  tramp  before 
me,  I  spied  a  rusty  bolt  in  the  road  bed,  and  it  occurred  to  me  that 
it  would  prove  a  good  substitute  for  my  broken  bars.  I  lashed  it  with 
wire  in  place  and  found  it  answered  the  purpose  admirably.  Slow 
riding  was  better  than  walking,  but  at  that  I  did  not  make  out  so 
poorly,  for  I  lumbered  into  the  section  house  at  Desert  only  fifteen 
minutes  after  Mrs.  Mcllrath  had  arrived.  Our  ride  through  Nevada 
was  varied.  For  days,  we  sped  along  rough  tracks,  meeting  none  but 
illiterate  laborers  and  camping  at  night  upon  the  hard  dirty  floors, 
often  without  covering.  Meal  after  meal  we  partook  of  without  fork 
or  spoon  and  in  many  instances,  the  only  knife  we  had  was  rusted 
and  mayhap  coated  with  plug  tobacco.  Table  linen,  napkins,  soap 
and  even  hair  brushes  were  often  total  strangers  to  us.  It  seems 
that  the  men  whom  fate  has  decreed  to  work  in  these  out-of-the-way 
places  have  for  an  object  in  life  only  a  place  of  refuge  from  the 
elements.  Then  again  maybe  the  day  after  our  dinner  had  been  eaten 
from  a  dry-goods  box  in  such  unpleasant  surroundings,  we  would  be 
at  one  of  the  famous  health  resorts  or  hunting  lodges  that  abound 
.n  the  West,  and  where  everything  is  of  the  very  best  quality.  The 
two  extremes  of  life  came  under  our  observation  within  our  1,S00  miles 
out  of  Chicago. 

At  Vista,  in  accordance  with  a  number  of  telegrams  sent  us  at 
various  points,  we  were  met  by  Prof.  M.  E.  Wilson  and  wife  on  a 
tandem,  heading  a  welcoming  party  sent  out  from  Reno.    All  prepara- 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS.  31 

tions  for  our  stay  in  this  charming  city  had  been  attended  to  by  them 
before  our  arrival.  Following  an  advance  guard,  with  Mrs.  Wilson 
and  my  wife  ahead,  the  Trofessor  and  myself  closing  up  the  rear  of 
the  procession,  the  party  rode  down  the  main  streets  of  Reno  and 
drew  up  at  the  Riverside  Hotel.  A  dinner  fit  for  a  king  and  sufficient 
for  a  regiment  was  on  the  table  ready  for  us.  Our  hospitable  friends, 
with  an  eye  for  our  comfort  and  enormous  appetites,  declined  to  delay 
sitting  down  any  longer  than  it  would  take  for  us  to  bathe  our  faces 
and  hands.  They  remained  for  an  hour  or  more  after  we  had  cleared 
the  table,  arranging  trips  for  our  entertainment  on  the  next  day.  For 
the  first  time  since  leaving  Chicago  Mrs.  Mcllrath  and  I  were  so  tired 
that  when  we  retired  we  slept  soundly  until  1  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon of  the  next  day.  Likely  as  not  we  should  have  slept  until  the 
evening  had  we  not  been  called  by  A.  S.  Bragg,  editor  of  the  Reno 
Gazette,  and  Miss  Manning,  a  charming  young  lady,  whom  the  editor 
had  brought  along  as  a  companion  for  Mrs.  Mcllrath.  With  them  we 
rode  over  the  entire  city,  the  two  ladies  going  ahead,  enabling  the 
editor  and  myself  to  fall  behind  and  indulge  in  a  discussion  of  our 
favorite  theme,  "Shall  it  be  gold,  or  free  silver  at  1G  to  1?"  July  20,  with 
Professor  and  Mrs.  Wilson  we  visited  the  famous  mines  of  Virginia 
City,  and  this  time  we  did  not  go  upon  bicycles.  The  Professor  called 
for  us  in  a  carriage,  whose  horses  were  piloted  by  a  reliable  veteran, 
who  had  served  his  apprenticeship  on  the  earlier  stage  coaches.  The 
ride  to  Virginia  City,  up  the  side  of  a  mountain,  is  fraught  with  danger. 
Only  two  weeks  before  our  arrival  there  was  a  fatal  accident,  a 
couple  of  tourists  and  their  horses  being  dashed  over  a  precipice,  and 
after  I  had  arrived  in  San  Francisco  three  weeks  later,  I  learned  of  the 
deaths  of  two  ladies  and  a  gentleman,  who  had  undertaken  the  same 
trip  on  horseback,  and  had  met  their  end  in  precisely  the  same 
manner. 

On  Monday,  July  22,  we  departed  from  Reno  upon  our  last  relay 
of  American  touring  for  three  years.  Prof.  Wilson  rode  with  us  and 
as  we  passed  Saw  Mill  Summit,  the  white  dust  died  away  and  I  saw 
nothing  but  flowers,  beautiful  foliage  and  waviug  grass.  The  Professor 
calmly  remarked:  "You  have  entered  a  new  country;  you  are  now  in 
California."  We  left  Truckee  July  2.3  in  the  morning,  making  the  160 
miles  to  Sacremento  shortly  after  dusk.  Four  days  in  Sacramento, 
devoted  to  sight-seeing,  and  then  we  started  for  San  Francisco, 
arriving  there  July  29.  We  had  then  covered  3,002  3-8  miles  from 
Chicago  in  52  days. 

A  complete  overhauling  of  our  wheels  and  time  allowed  for  neces- 
sary shopping  by  Mrs.  Mcllrath.  caused  us  to  remain  in  San  Francisco 
much  longer  than  we  had  anticipated.    The  days  did  not  hang  heavy 


32  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

upon  our  hands,  the  wheelmen  of  the  city  being  universally  kind  in 
their  atteDtions  to  us  both.  My  space  is  too  limited  to  go  into  the  details 
attendant  upon  our  sojourn  in  San  Francisco,  as  much  as  I  should  like 
for  my  cycling  readers  to  know  of  the  pleasure  in  store  for  a  wheelman 
in  the  metropolis  of  the  Pacific  Coast. 

On  October  12  the  telegraph  message  of  three  words,  "We  are  off," 
was  flashed  to  the  Inter  Ocean  office  in  Chicago.  We  had  taken  pas- 
sage on  the  Occidental  and  Oriental  Line  steamer  City  of  Tel  in,  bound 
for  Yokohama,  the  chief  city  of  the  flowery  kingdom  of  Japan.  Every- 
thing for  our  accommodation  that  could  be  done  on  board  the  steamer 
was  ordered,  not  the  least  of  our  favors  being  two  seats  at  the  table 
of  Captain  Trask,  commanding  officer  of  the  vessel.  Our  fellow  pas- 
sengers were  an  interesting  lot,  including  two  United  States  naval 
officers;  a  member  of  the  English  Parliament,  his  wife  and  a  traveling 
companion;  an  officer  of  the  Austrian  army;  two  Freuch  globe 
trotters,  who  intended  to  write  a  book  of  travel  upon  their  return  to 
Paris;  a  Corean  nobleman;  four  American  missionaries,  and  a  mys- 
terious personage  whose  visiting  card  read,  "Capt.  Yladmir  Samioloff," 
of  the  army  of  the  Czar.  The  steerage  passengers  were  exclusively 
Japanese  and  Chinese.  The  third  day  out  Capt.  Trask  escorted  me 
through  the  steei-age  and  showed  me  the  hospital  ward,  which  con- 
tained three  Japanese,  who  were  going  home  to  die.  The  captain 
explained  to  me  that  in  every  case  of  the  death  of  a  Japanese  on 
board  a  steamer,  the  body  was  given  a  sailor's  burial,  but  +hat  with 
the  Chinese  it  was  entirely  different.  The  body  of  a  dead  Chinaman, 
even  though  he  were  to  die  one  day  out,  would  be  embalmed  and  taken 
home  to  his  relatives,  a  Chinese  embalmer  nearly  always  being  on 
board  a  vessel  for  just  such  emergencies. 

Mrs.  Mcllrath,  for  six  days  out,  was  the  most  sea-sick  woman  that 
ever  tossed  in  a  berth.  She  was  unable  to  come  on  deck  before 
Friday,  Oct.  IS,  and  rough  weather,  which  set  in  the  next  day,  sent 
her  below  again,  and  thus  she  lost  one  of  the  prettiest  parts  of  our 
voyage  across  the  Pacific.  Monday,  Oct.  21,  was  the  shortest  day  I 
ever  passed.  It  lasted,  strictlj  speaking,  but  seven  hours,  or  from  12 
o'clock  to  7:15  a.  m.,  at  which  time  the  City  of  Tekin  crossed  the 
meridian.  Having  been  constantly  raving  with  the  sun,  and  so 
gaining  time,  at  7:10  o'clock  we  had  entered  upon  Tuesday,  Oct.  22. 
At  11:30  on  the  morning  of  the  same  day  we  caught  our  first  sight  of 
Japan,  the  white  crest  of  the  sacred  mountain,  Fujiyama,  looming 
in  the  distance.  Monday  evening,  Oct.  2S,  at  S:15  o'clock,  the  City 
of  Pekin  steamed  into  the  harbor,  having  broken  her  record  thirty-seven 
minutes.  The  fact  of  the  boat's  arrival  ahead  of  time,  made  the  hours 
so  late  before  the  steam  launches  of  the  hotel  arrived  that  we  decided 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS.  33 

to  remain  on  board  the  steamer  until  next  morning.  We  were  still 
asleep  Tuesday  morning  when  the  runners  of  the  hotels  roused  us  by 
pounding  upon  our  state-room  door.  The  Club  Hotel  was  the  one  we 
had  selected,  and  when  the  representative  announced  himself,  we 
gave  a  list  of  our  baggage  and  hastened  to  dress.  At  the  English 
hataba  (a  long  pier  running  out  into  the  bay)  our  baggage  was  thor- 
oughly overhauled  by  the  customs  officers,  and  upon  our  wheels  and 
camera  a  duty  of  five  per  cent  was  imposed.  As  cameras  are  listed  at 
50  yen  and  bicycles  at  200  yen  each,  this  would  have  cost  us  in  duty 
2'2  yen  50  sen.  or  about  twelve  dollars  in  gold.  After  a  short  conference 
and  an  ostentatious  display  of  Secretary  Gresham's  passports  and  the 
Inter  Ocean  credentials,  which  the  revenue  officers  had  not  under- 
stood, our  articles  were  franked  and  we  entered  the  city. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


JAPAN'S   QUEER   CREDIT    SYSTEM — INTER   OCEAN   TOURISTS     AT     THE    BURIAL 
OF   PRINCE   KITASHIRAKAWA — A   POINT   FOR   ALL   AMERICANS. 

The  Club  Hotel,  which  is  the  headquarters  for  American  tourists 
and  residents,  is  situated  only  a  block  from  the  pier  and  adjacent  to 
the  Consulates,  shops  and  points  of  interest.  The  owners  and  mana- 
gers are  Europeans,  or  "foreigners"  as  they  are  called  in  Japan,  but 
the  service  of  the  hotel  is  exclusively  by  natives.  Your  room  is  cared 
for  by  a  "boy,"  your  meals  served  by  a  "boy"  and  "boys,"  sometimes 
50  years  of  age,  perform  every  possible  service.  There  are  without 
doubt  more  courtesies  shown  a  guest  in  Japan  than  in  any  other 
country.  Our  reception  in  the  city  was  all  that  we  could  ask.  The 
letter  to  Col.  Mclvor,  American  Consul,  from  friends  at  his  home  in 
Cedar  Rapids.  Iowa,  made  us  thrice  welcome  at  that  gentleman's  resi- 
dence. The  fact  of  our  representing  an  American  newspaper  made 
us  at  home  in  newspaper  circles,  which  are  controlled  largely  by 
Americans.  Our  coming  had  been  heralded  to  the  wheelmen  of  Japan, 
and  as  we  were  expected  some  weeks  before  we  arrived,  the  coming 
was  of  more  than  ordinary  interest. 

Bicycling,  at  the  time  of  my  visit,  was  just  beginning  to  become 
popular  in  Japan,  and  what  machines  were  used  were  imported  at 
great  cost  from  the  States  and  Europe.  But  with  commendable  enter- 
prise the  manufacturers  of  Japan  now  perfect  their  own  machines,  all 
parts  of  which  are  made  and  assembled  in  local  concerns,  operated  by 
local  capital  and  mechanics.  In  Japan  it  is  not  expected  that  cash 
will  be  tendered  for  anything  purchased  or  reuted,  with  perhaps  the 
exception  of  "rickshas,"  which  correspond  in  their  common  use  to  the 
3 


34  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

calis  of  American  cities,  only  that  they  are  drawn  by  "boys"  instead 
of  horses.  There  is  an  abominable  system  of  credit  established  in  the 
empire  by  which  all  foreigners  purchase  and  temporarily  pay  for 
all  articles  upon  bits  of  memorandum  called  "chits."  If  a  gentleman  in 
Yokohama  wishes  a  drink,  a  cigar,  new  hat  or  even  a  suit  of  clothes, 
he  steps  into  the  nearest  place  of  business  adapted  to  filling  his  require- 
ments and,  after  making  his  purchase,  signs  a  bit  of  paper,  giving 
date,  price  and  buyer's  name  and  address,  and  the  first  of  every  month 
the  "chit"  is  sent  him  as  a  receipt  bill.  To  a  well-appearing  for- 
eigner reasonable  credit  will  be  extended  without  question.  My 
knowledge  of  this  system  was  derived  in  the  most  peculiar  manner. 
Mrs.  Mellrath  and  I  were  touring  the  shops,  when  her  attention  was 
attracted  by  a  shawl.  She  entered  the  shop,  priced  the  article  and  I 
advised  the  purchase,  but  our  pocketbook  had  been  left  at  the  hotel, 
she  blushingly  informed  me.  We  thanked  the  shopman  for  his  trouble 
and  promised  to  return  the  same  evening.  The  price  was  six  yen, 
or  about  three  dollars,  as  quoted  by  the  dealer,  and  as  we  started  out 
of  the  shop  he  called  to  us,  asking  if  the  price  was  too  much.  I 
explained  our  embarrassed  conditon,  and  he  immediately  wrapped  up 
the  shawl,  placing  one  of  the  printed  slips  upon  the  countei-,  asked 
me  to  sign  a  "chit"  for  five  yen.  I  was  an  entire  stranger,  yet  upon 
credit  1  obtained  for  one  yen  less  that  which  I  could  not  purchase  for 
cash.  The  most  astonishing  fact  connected  with  this  extraordinary 
system  is  that  no  laws  are  provided  to  punish  dead-beats  or  frauds. 

On  Monday,  Nov.  11,  we  journeyed  over  to  Tokio,  eighteen  miles 
distant,  to  witness  the  funeral  ceremonies  over  the  body  of  His  Im- 
perial Highness  Prince  Kitashirakawa,  a  commander  of  the  Imperial 
Guard.  In  tropical  Formosa,  under  a  fierce  sun  and  amid  miasmatic 
jungle,  the  prince  died  of  malarial  fever  Oct.  29.  The  sad  news  reached 
Japan  shortly  after  our  arrival,  but  by  a  curious  custom,  was  not 
announced  to  the  people  as  authentic  or  an  accepted  fact  until  officially 
given  out  by  the  imperial  authorities  on  Nov.  5.  In  fact  the  Prince 
officially  lived  until  that  time.  News  of  his  victories  in  Formosa 
brought  forth  new  honors  and  'distinctions,  and  upon  Nov.  2,  he,  or 
lather  the  corpse,  was  decorated  with  the  Collar  of  the  Chrysanthemum 
and  Grand  Cordon  of  the  Imperial  Family.  The  service  was  simple, 
yet  impressive,  without  a  shade  of  paganism  or  superstition.  There 
was  much  about  it  also  that  would  befit  countries,  considering  them- 
selves superior  to  Japan  to  imitate.  One  most  noticeable  was  the  order 
of  the  assembled  masses.  Not  a  person  offered  to  step  outside  of  the 
prescribed  limit.  There  was  no  jamming  or  crowding.  No  voices 
spoke  louder  that  a  whisper,  and  the  presence  of  police  and  militia 
was  necessary  only  as  an  exhibition  of  official  dignity.    Where  houses 


36  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

of  greater  height  than  one  story  faced  on  the  line  of  march,  or  porches 
existed  above  the  elevation  of  the  street,  the  curtains  at  windows  and 
doors  were  closely  drawn,  and  the  occupants  stood  in  the  street.  No 
yelling,  gesticulating  mob  filled  the  telegraph  and  telephone  poles  and 
roofs,  for  it  is  not  permissible  in  Japan  that  anyone  look  down  upon 
the  funeral  of  a  dignitary.  The  passage  of  the  Emperor  through  the 
streets  calls  into  effect  the  same  condition.  He  may  be  viewed  from 
an  equal  level,  but  never  looked  down  upon  from  an  elevation. 

I  am  glad  to  record  that  it  is  a  mistaken  impression  that  there 
exists  in  Japan,  a  general  feeling  against  Europeans  and  Americans.  In 
any  part  of  the  Mikado's  realm  the  American  is  as  safe  as  at  home 
and  the  European  is  comparatively  as  secure.  Why  is  this  distinction 
of  a  degree  made?  During  the  late  chastisement  which  Japan  admin- 
istered to  China  the  action  was  so  one-sided  that  it  could  scarcely  be 
called  war.  As  soon  as  the  Russians  interfered,  threats  were  made  by 
a  few  anarchistic  extremists  in  Yokohama,  Tokio  and  other  large 
cities,  against  the  "white  man"  and  his  property.  The  simple  minds 
of  the  rabble  of  oriental  nations  do  not  regard  the  English,  French, 
Russian  and  German  subjects  as  belonging  to  distinctive  nations,  but 
classify  them  as  the  "white  man."  The  ministers  and  consuls  at 
Tokio,  during  this  excitement,  were  brought  under  guard  to  Yokohama. 
Their  residences  were  guarded  by  police,  and  when  any  of  these  gen- 
tlemen drove  out  in  carriages,  they  were  surrounded  by  detectives, 
who  were  compelled  to  use  force  for  the  passages  of  their  vhicles 
through  the  streets.  Not  an  act  of  violence  occurred  which  reflected 
upon  the  local  government  in  the  slightest  degree,  but  the  satisfactory 
ending  of  threatened  murder  and  riot  was  due  entirely  to  the  vigilance 
of  the  secret  service  department.  Upon  the  other  hand,  when  the 
United  States  Consul  drove  out  there  was  no  necessity  of  a  guard.  A 
sight  of  the  peerless  colors  of  the  United  States  emblazoned  on  the 
carriage  door,  or  the  unmistakable  uniform  of  the  driver,  and  the  sea 
of  humanity  which  filled  the  street  would  part,  and  with  bows  and 
cheers,  allow  our  representative  to  go  his  way.  Policemen  and  officers 
saluted  with  caps  in  hand,  while  perhaps  only  a  half  square  away  the 
guard  of  one  of  the  other  consuls  struggled  fiercely  with  an  unyielding 
mob.  That  is  the  reason  I  say  an  American  is  as  safe  from  personal* 
interference  in  any  part  of  Japan  as  in  the  heart  of  any  of  our  great 
cities.  An  Englishman  is,  in  fact,  more  scure  here  than  he  would  be 
in  any  of  the  acquired  provinces  of  Great  Britain. 

The  short  rides  of  the  Inter  Ocean  cyclists,  taken  in  and  about 
Yokohama,  Kanagarua,  Mississippi  "Bay  and  Tokio,  demonstrated  to  us 
the  truth  that  the  Japanese  have  not  only  respect,  but  love  for  the 
Yankee.    The  roads  of  Japan  compare  favorably  with  the  boulevards  of 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS.  37 

American  cities,  except  in  matter  of  width.  They  are  smooth,  hard 
and  upon  the  sea  coast  quite  level.  One  of  the  finest  courses  I  have 
ridden  over  is  a  six-mile  run  we  took  daily  before  breakfast  in  Yoko- 
hama. The  course  begins  at  the  Club  Hotel,  along  the  Bund  to  the 
Yalo  Bashi,  following  this  to  the  Haz-Aso-No  Bashi  and  from  there  to 
Mississippi  Bay,  the  Bluffs  and  back  to  the  hotel. 

The  Inter  Ocean  tourists  left  Yokohama  Monday,  Nov,  18,  having 
secured  new  passports  for  the  interior,  where  the  treaty  laws  do  not' 
extend  protection  or  privileges  to  the  foreigner.  Our  destination  was 
unknown  even  to  ourselves,  but  as  we  were  astride  our  wheels  it 
mattered  little  where  we  wound  up,  so  long  as  interesting  scenery  and 
incidences  were  daily  occurrences.  One  point,  in  main,  was  to  form 
the  center  of  a  circle  around  which  we  intended  to  swing,  and  that 
center  was  Fujiyama,  the  sacred  mountain.  To  reach  the  lower  slopes 
of  Fuji  there  are  many  pathways,  but  for  cyclists  there  is  but  one  that 
may  be  practicably  adopted,  and  that  by  way  of  Gotenba,  Yamanka 
and  Yoshida.  "the  route  of  temples,"  the  course  traveled  by  the  native 
pilgrims  to  Fuji  in  summer  months.  We  took  a  southwesterly  direc- 
tion from  Yokohama  and  came  to  a  well  ballasted  wagon  road,  running 
almost  parallel  with  the  railroad,  connecting  Tokio  with  Kobe,  400 
miles  south.  We  passed  through  the  villages  of  Fujisawa,  Hiratsuka 
and  Oisa,  crossing  the  River  Yanugawa,  and  entering  Kodsu,  a  village 
of  large  proportions,  at  noon.  Kodsu  is  about  thirty  miles  from  Yoko- 
hama, and  it  was  here  we  had  hoped  lo  eat  our  lunch  and  find  drinking 
water  in  which  we  could  place  confiilence.  The  one  drawback  to  tour- 
ists in  the  interior  of  Japan  is  water.  In  their  natural  condition  the 
waters  are  pure,  cool  streams,  coursing  down  snow-clad  mountains, 
miles  in  the  interior,  but  passing  through  the  villages,  their  course  is 
diverted  into  ditches  and  water-boxes,  running  through  the  gutters 
and  sometimes  under  the  houses  of  the  town.  The  sewerage  of  surface 
drains  empties  into  these  streams.  Cooking  utensils  and  food  are 
washed,  fish  are  cleaned  and  even  dogs  drink  from  and  bathe  in  these 
gutters.  The  same  system  of  water  supply  exists  in  all  of  Japan,  and 
after  we  had  struck  Kodsu,  Mrs.  Mellrath  and  I  drank  only  native- 
made  beer  during  our  stay  in  the  land  of  the  Mikado. 

At  1  o'clock  we  were  again  on  the  road,  keeping  with  the  railroad 
tracks  until  we  passed  through  Sakawagawa.  Little  was  to  be  seen 
but  rice  and  vegetable  fields,  the  mountains  in  the  distance  and  the 
swift  rushing  river  coursing  to  the  sea.  We  covered  72  miles  by  7 
o'clock,  arriving  at  Gotenba,  where  we  spent  our  first  night  in  a 
Japanese  yartoyo,  or  inn.  In  a  Japanese  sleeping  apartment  there  is 
nothing  to  be  seen  as  one  enters  the  room  except  matting  upon  the 
floor.    There  is  not  a  table,  chair,  bed  or  any  other  article  of  furniture 


38  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

visible.  We  had  begun  to  think  that  we  were  to  pass  the  night  on  the 
floor  as  we  had  done  in  the  section  houses  of  Nevada,  when  an  attend- 
ant entered  the  room,  beainng  cushions,  and  a  second  one  came  with 
a  table,  small  affairs  resembling  unpadded  foot-rests,  braziers  with  live 
coals  and  tiny  bronze  tea-kettles.  The  cushions  were  piled  into  soft 
heaps  about  fourteen  inches  high,  the  tables  placed  between,  and  we 
were  motioned  to  a  seat  upon  the  cushions.  To  the  right  and  left 
were  placed  box-like  trays  and  in  these  our  food  was  served  in  dainty 
bowls  and  dishes.  At  9  o'clock,  when  I  thought  it  time  to  retire,  I 
clapped  my  hands  for  a  servant.  To  the  girl  who  answered  I  made 
known  my  wishes  and  she  called  two  assistants,  who  appeared,  each 
bringing  a  pair  of  padded  comforters.  The  comforters  were  spread 
upon  the  matting  in  layers,  and  at  the  head  of  each  was  placed  the 
Japanese  substitute  for  a  pillow,  a  box  six  inches  square  by  twelve 
inches  long,  the  upper  edge  slightly  padded.  We  passed  a  most  com- 
fortable  night,  and  awakened  only  by  the  maid  entering  our  room  with 
a  tea  set.  After  breakfast  we  called  for  our  bill  and  the  amount  ren- 
dered was  two  yen,  or  one  dollar  in  gold.  Bed,  bath,  breakfast  and 
supper,  unequaled  service  and  every  attention  in  a  first-class  inn  to 
be  had  at  the  rate  of  sixty  cents  a  day!  By  0  o'clock  we  were  again  on 
the  road  with  Fujiyama  looming  up  thirty  miles  away.  From  the 
guide,  who  had  previously  given  us  instructions,  we  knew  which  course 
to  take,  and  so  turned  up  the  fork  apparently  leading  to  the  very  root 
of  the  mountain.  We  did  not  stop  at  Yamanaka  village,  but  rode 
through  the  main  streets,  astounding  the  natives  and  passing  from 
their  view,  before  they  realized  what  had  happened,  except  that  some1 
thing  unseen  or  unheard  of  before  in  Yamanaka  had  passed  their  way. 
From  Yamanaka  to  Yoshida  our  path  was  over  level,  smooth  roads,  but 
in  the  latter  place  we  were  compelled  to  stop  and  consult  our  guide- 
books and  the  police.  At  the  police  station,  before  we  were  given  any 
information,  our  passports  were  demanded.  I  produced  mine,  but  Mrs. 
Mcllrath  had  left  hers,  the  most  necessary  of  her  effects,  behind.  The 
officer  looked  over  my  papers  and  then  pointed  to  my  wife.  The  pass- 
ports had  been  made  separately  at  our  request,  and  of  course  mine 
made  no  mention  of  Mrs.  Mcllrath.  To  gain  time  and  collect  my  wits 
I  took  the  paper  from  the  officer's  hands  and  glanced  over  the  copy 
attached,  which  was  written  in  English.  An  idea  '"struck"  me.  My 
name  was  "parted  in  the  middle;"  why  not  give  my  wife  half  of  it? 
Calling  the  attention  of  the  official  to  the  English  copy,  I  pointed  to 
"H.  Darwin,"  and  then  to  my  wife.  Then  laying  my  finger  upon  the 
name  "Mcllrath,"  I  patted  myself  on  the  chest.  The  official  referred 
to  the  Japanese  copy,  I  repeated  the  pantomime,  he  smiled  and  bowed, 
and  making  a  few  mystic  characters  upon  the  passport,  he  altered  it 
to  read,  "H.  Darwin,  female,  and  Mcllrath,  male." 


AifcOUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS.  39 

CHAPTER  VII. 

A  NIGHT  IN  A  JAPANESE  TEMPLE — UNSUCCESSFUL  ATTEMPT  TO  "KODAK"  THE 
MIKADO — LANDED  AMONG  THE  "HEATHEN  CHINEE." 

The  sun  was  setting  when  we  left  Yoshida,  and  with  our  path 
principally  composed  of  the  narrow  dikes  separating  the  rice  fields, 
progress  was  painfully  slow.  Miyhoji,  seven  miles  away,  was  our 
destination  for  the  night.  We  had  an  idea  that  Miyhoji  was  a  village, 
and  so  clicked  off  eight  miles  before  we  discovered  that  we  had  either 
passed  the  town  or  were  on  the  wrong  track.  About  one  mile  back  we 
had  seeu  a  light  and  there  we  returned.  We  were  at  Miyhoji,  one  of 
the  historic  old  temples  of  Japan,  and  there  we  slept.  The  priest  lived 
here  with  his  wife  and  two  acolytes,  and  a  cordial  welcome  it  was 
they  gave  us.  At  5  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  Nov.  20,  we  entered  a 
forest  at  the  end  of  Lake  Mishi-No-TJmi.  We  bad  six  miles  yet  to  go 
ere  we  sighted  Shoji  Lake  and  the  hotel  al  that  point  kept  by  Y. 
noshino,  a  naturalized  Japanese  gentleman,  who  was  born  in  Scot- 
land, and  having  lived  eighteen  years  on  the  islands  of  Japan,  finally 
became  an  adopted  citizen.  Traveling  the  forests  at  nighl  in  Japan 
over  lava  beds  with  path  illumed  only  by  a  cycle  lamp  is  not  the  most 
pleasant  of  journeys.  The  narrow  way  is  uncertain,  deep  chasms 
appear  upon  either  side  and  I  had  several  rocky  falls.  I  was  bruised 
and  battered  when  we  came  to  Hoshiho's  residence  and  lost  no  time 
in  taking  to  my  bed.  At  daybreak  our  host  called  us  to  view  the 
silent  volcano  rising  in  grandeur  to  the  extreme  height  12,305  feet. 
There  is  not  a  peak  in  all  the  grand  elevation  of  the  Rockies  that  can 
compare  with  Fuji.  Tike's  Teak,  taken  from  its  setting  of  lesser 
lights,  which  but  serve  to  destroy  its  beauty,  and  placed  upon  the 
plains  of  Illinois,  would  not  even  prove  a  petty  rival  to  the  one  before 
us.  As  we  looked  upon  Fuji  that  morning  a  spotless  mantle  of  snow 
cowled  her  crest,  the  scintillations  of  which  formed  a  halo  of  pris- 
matic light  about  her,  and  it  did  not  seem  strange  to  realize  that 
the  natives  worshiped  this  wondrous  monument  of  eruptive  power 
and  beauty. 

It  was  our  good  fortune  to  be  present  at  the  greatest  of  all  "war 
holidays"  held  at  Shokausha  Park  in  Kudan,  on  Dec.  15,  16,  17  and  18. 
After  leaving  Iloshino's  we  returned  to  Tokio,  and  spent  the  time  in 
touring  the  vicinity  until  these  great  fetes  at  which  the  emperor  and 
empress  are  always  present,  were  held.  Dec.  17,  the  day  upon  which 
His  Imperial  Majesty  Metsu  Ilito,  Emperor  of  Japau,  was  to  appear 
at  Shokousha  Park,  dawned  dull  and  threatening,  and  awakened 
within  us  the  dread  idea  that  the  mightiest  of  all  Japanese  would  not 
be  on  view.    At  the  park  the  attendance  was  something  incalculable. 


40  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

Tokio  seemed  to  have  had  its  million  souls  augmented  by  the  thousands 
of  Yokohama,  Nikko  and  other  surrounding  cities.  Our  experiences  in 
the  vast  crowd  were  paralleled  only  by  those  in  the  dense  throng  at  the 
World's  Fair  on  Chicago  Day.  Shortly  before  11  o'clock,  a  tremor  ran 
through  the  crowd,  then  a  hoarse  murmur,  and  amid  a  cavalcade  of 
gay  lancers,  the  carriage  of  the  emperor  swept  through  the  lane  of 
blue-coated  soldiers,  and  halted  directly  in  front  of  where  we  were 
standing.  As  the  emperor  turned  and  looked  about  him,  I  saw  a 
Japanese  of  low  stature,  dressed  in  the  uniform  of  the  commander  of 
the  army  and  navy;  his  dark-complexioned  face  partly  shaded  by  a 
peculiar  hat.  heavily  jeweled.  The  photographs  of  the  Mikado  repre- 
sent hirn  to  be  a  slender  man,  with  a  long  face,  but  they  are  not  true 
likenesses.  The  Mikado  has  a  round,  full  face,  high  intellectual 
temple,  a  black  mustache  which  droops  over  the  gentle,  pleasing 
mouth,  and  with  soft  eyes,  inexpressibly  sad,  his  face  appeals  to  one 
as  that  of  a  man  suffering  under  the  royal  chains  which  confine  him 
to  the  narrow  limits  of  the  palace  grounds. 

He  stood  but  a  moment  in  the  roadway  and  surrounded  by  nobles 
of  various  high  degrees  with  bowed  form,  he  moved  up  the  graveled 
path,  ascended  the  steps  of  the  temple  and  disappeared  within.  While 
he  was  at  worship  my  American  instinct  to  obtain  a  souvenir  of  the 
occasion  got  the  better  of  my  respect  for  royalty,  and  I  unswung  my 
camera  and  prepared  to  make  a  picture  of  the  scene.  Almost  directly 
two  pairs  of  brown  hands  seized  the  camera,  turned  it  sharply  up- 
ward, and  held  it  until  the  imperial  carriage  received  the  person  of  the 
emperor  and  departed.  The  Mikado  was  not  to  be  shot  at  even  by  a 
camera.  It  was  a  keen  disappointment  to  me,  but  I  learned  later  that 
it  was  better  I  did  not  succeed.  Had  I  snapped  the  picture  I  should 
have  lost  my  camera  and  probably  been  roughly  handled  myself.  I 
was  told  that  I  had  been  followed  all  morning  by  the  police,  who 
knew  what  I  would  attempt  with  the  instrument,  and  who  were 
detailed  especially  to  frustrate  my  plans.  My  camera  was  not  only 
excluded  here,  but  in  all  buildings  that  held  treasures  or  relics  of  the 
government  and  public  departments. 

We  had  spent  two  months  on  the  volcanic  island,  our  last  few 
days  being  fraught  with  interesting  episodes  and  instructive  visits. 
We  had  received  so  many  courtesies  at  the  hands  of  the  Japanese, 
both  from  individuals  and  government,  that  Ave  were  loathe  to  leave 
for  the  mainland  of  China.  The  final  courtesy  extended  me  by  the 
Japanese  Government  was  the  privilege  of  visiting  the  new  prison 
just  completed,  and  as  I  was  the  first  European  granted  such  permis- 
sion, I  felt  bound  to  accept  the  unusual  invitation.  The  precautions 
taken  against  disease  by  germ  in  the  penitentiary  at  Tokio  are  equal 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS.  41 

to  those  practiced  in  the  most  famous  hospitals  and  clinics  in  the 
United  States  and  Europe.  The  wards  were  models  of  cleanliness, 
well  lighted,  well  ventilated,  warm  and  comfortable.  The  industrial 
features  of  the  institution,  I  am  safe  in  saying,  are  superior  to  those 
of  the  vast  state  prisons  in  my  own  country.  There  were  seven  work- 
shops devoted  respectively  to  the  manufacture  of  Are  engines,  to  the 
weaving  and  spinning  of  cotton  and  silk;  the  manufacture  of  silk  um- 
brellas; production  of  steel  hairpins;  bricks  for  the  city;  the  weaving 
of  cloth  and  the  manufacture  of  stockings,  and  one  devoted  to  all 
branches  of  carpentry  and  wood-carving.  The  governor  of  the  prison 
presented  us  with  many  valuable  mementoes  of  our  visit.  But  for  that 
matter,  every  Japanese  gentleman  of  rank  whom  we  visited  sent  us  a 
little  souvenir  of  our  meeting.  We  were  compelled  to  purchase 
additional  trunks  in  which  to  store  our  "curios,"  and  when  we  left  on 
Jan.  12,  1S90,  on  the  City  of  Pekin,  for  China,  we  were  forced  to  have 
our  "excess  baggage"  shipped  to  our  home  in  America. 

When  the  Inter  Ocean  cyclists  reached  Shanghai,  one  of  the  first 
sights  we  wished  to  see  was  the  people  among  whom  we  were  to  travel 
for  the  next  2,000  miles  of  our  trip,  and  we  wished  to  see  them  at 
home.  To  view  them  in  all  their  glory  as  an  uncivilized,  barbaric 
race,  a  trip  to  the  old  city  was  necessary,  and  on  this  errand  Mrs.  Mc- 
Ilrath  and  I  started  Jan.  25.  We  had  intended  to  ride  our  wheels,  but 
were  dissuaded  from  doing  so  on  account  of  the  hindrance  they  would 
prove  in  sight-seeing.  Our  friends  strongly  urged  that  we  take  a  guide, 
claiming  it  unsafe  for  foreigners  to  walk  about  the  city  alone,  but  as 
we  were  perforce  to  travel  in  Chinese  territory  far  less  accustomed  to 
"foreign  devils"  than  the  inhabitants  of  Shanghai,  we  resolved  to  make 
our  initial  bow  among  the  vegeterians  unprotected,  save  by  our  nerve 
and  a  stout  cane.  Crowds  gathered  around  us  wherever  we  stopped. 
"When  I  pulled  out  my  notebook  and  fountain  pen,  the  masses  literally 
fought  for  places  near  in  order  to  see  me  write,  and  when  I  had 
finished  and  upheld  the  scrawled  page  for  them  to  look  at,  a  roar  of 
laughter  went  up,  and  several  pointed  to  Chinese  characters  upon  the 
dead  walls  of  a  temple,  and  in  pantomime  asked  if  the  ink  tracings  on  the 
page  represented  writing.  The  task  of  getting  away  from  the  crowd 
was  much  more  difficult  than  forming  it,  and  we  were  escorted  the 
remainder  of  the  afternoon  by  a  monster  band  of  chattering  idlers. 

In  many  of  the  shops  passed  we  noticed  little  girls,  mere  babies 
they  were,  standing  on  stools  or  leaning  over  railings,  their  heads  on 
their  arms.  The  poor  tots  moaned  constantly,  their  little  tear-stained 
faces  depicting  anguish  seldom  seen  on  the  bright  faces  of  children. 
Nothing  seemed  to  attract  their  attention,  nothing  pleased  them,  and 
little  wonder.    Their  tiny  feet  had  been  bound  in  unyielding  rolls  of 


42  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

cloth  since  the  clay  they  were  born,  and  already  the  bones  and  sinews 
were  crushing  each  other  into  a  mass  of  unrecognizable  pulp,  held 
together  only  by  the  skin  and  bandages.  This  practice  is  common 
among  the  Chinese  of  all  classes  and  produces  the  fashionable  small 
foot  of  the  women.  The  bandages  once  placed  on  are  never  removed, 
except  to  be  replaced  by  others,  and  in  result,  hundreds  of  lives  are 
sacrificed  annually,  the  children's  feet  mortifying  and  sloughing  away. 
Ii  is  erroneous  to  believe  that  only  women  of  high  caste  have 
small  feet.  I  saw  women  whose  feet  were  only  two  and  a  half  and 
three  inches  long,  dragging  drays. 

For  four  hours  we  wandered  through  the  dark  alleyways  and  streets, 
passing  through  tunnels  and  archways  that  were  filled  with  noxious 
vapors  and  used  by  the  public  for  all  manner  of  nuisances.  We  ex- 
perienced no  interference  with  our  progression,  the  only  hostile  feeling 
being  shown  was  by  a  few  street  arabs  who  pelted  us  with  stones 
and  fruit  skins.  This  treatment  would  be  accorded  a  Chinese  by  our 
own  precious  youth  in  the  States  and  does  little  harm  if  no  attention  is 
paid  to  the  offenders.  Dogs  made  several  attacks  upon  us,  but  the 
little  ammonia  gun  I  always  carry  effectually  checked  all  onslaughts 
and  filled  the  observing  Chinese  with  wonder.  The  "gun"  was  one  of 
my  own  manufacture,  simply  a  rubber  bulb  with  a  short  glass 
nozzle.  The  bulb  I  kept  filled  with  ammonia,  and  when  dogs  annoyed 
me,  either  on  my  wheel  or  afoot,  the  bulb,  concealed  in  the  hand,  with 
the  nozzle  projecting  between  the  fingers,  made  a  most  effective 
weapon.  Directing  the  nozzle  in  the  dog's  direction,  a  slight  pressure 
sent  a  tiny  stream  into  the  yelping  cur's  mouth  and  eyes.  The  dog's 
violent  breathing  invariably  caused  him  to  take  a  full  inhalation 
before  he  was  aware  of  the  evil  designs  upon  him,  and  the  effect  was 
instantaneous.  He  would  close  his  mouth  with  a  snap  and  then  per- 
form a  wild  side  somersault  on  his  back.  Several  times  I  used  the 
gun  upon  dogs  in  Shanghai  and  did  it  in  such  a  manner  as  to  conceal 
the  act.  The  masters  of  the  animals,  who  stood  grinning  while  the 
brutes  yelped  and  snapped  at  us,  were  unable  to  comprehend  the 
reason  for  Fido's  acrobatic  feats,  and  in  each  instance  after  looking 
the  dog  over  to  find  some  injury,  laughed  heartily,  and  addressed  to  us 
words  in  reference  to  the  dog  which  were  no  credit  to  man's  most 
faithful  friend. 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS.  43 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

INTER  OCEAN    CYCLISTS    GUESTS    AT    A    CHINESE    WEDDING— TORTURES   OF  A 
NATIVE  PRISON  REVEALED — JOLLY  CELEBRATION  OF  THE  NEW  YEAR. 

The  statement  made  by  someone  that  man's  birth,  marriage  and 
death  are  the  three  important  epochs  in  his  brief  career,  find  support 
in  the  custom  of  the  Chinese.  Births  are  heralded  by  fireworks,  fetes 
and  rejoicings,  and  weddings  and  funerals  are  marked  by  lavish  outlay 
of  money  and  great  display.  The  wedding  of  a  Chinese  woman  is  a 
complicated  affair,  but  is  conducted  upon  the  same  principles  as  are 
the  weddings  of  the  American  Indians.  The  bride  marries  into  the 
groom's  family,  not  the  groom  into  the  bride's  family;  the  wedding 
occurs  at  the  groom's  home  and  the  presents  are  his  property.  Al- 
though a  Chinese  may  marry  as  many  wives  as  his  income  will  permit 
him  to  support,  the  first  wife  is  the  only  one  that  has  an  extensive 
ceremony  performed  over  the  nuptials,  the  succeeding  wives  entering 
the  life  of  the  husband  with  as  little  ceremony  as  a  domestic  or  a 
new  piece  of  furniture.  In  fact  as  such  the  additional  wives  are 
regarded,  being  bartered  for  and  bought  like  merchandise.  Mrs.  Mc- 
Ilrath  and  I  were  fortunate  in  being  present  at  the  elaborate  wedding 
ceremony  of  a  Chinese  couple.  I  fancy  that  if  some  of  my  American 
friends  had  their  wedding  march  played  by  a  Chinese  orchestra,  they 
would  be  taken  from  the  altar  raving  lunatics.  A  boiler  yard  or  a  saw 
mill  would  not  take  "show  money"  with  a  Chinese  wedding  orchestra 
as  a  peace  disturber.  But  with  all  the  queer  ideas  dominant  in  China, 
there  are  a  few  very  sound  customs  and  laws,  one,  particularly,  govern- 
ing  marriage  and  the  duties  involved.  It  may  be  said  truthfully  that  no 
race  of  people  on  earth  possess  more  loyal  wives  than  the  Chinese. 
Infidelity  is  punishable  by  horrible  death,  and  even  the  mildest  of 
flirtations  is  a  serious  offense  and  a  pastime  unknown  among  the  more 
gentle  sex  of  China.  The  women,  though  occupying  a  low  plane  in  the 
estimate  of  their  liege  lords,  are  devoted  to  their  husbands  and  homes, 
laboring  zealously  for  the  welfare  of  their  rising  generations,  but  are 
repaid  only  by  condescending  approbation  and  often  neglect.  Among 
the  men,  the  rules  of  morality  are  more  lax,  and  the  time  spent  among 
the  slaves,  bought  of  depraved  fathers,  is  limited  only  by  the  husband's 
income  and  leisure  from  the  absorbing  occupation  of  money-getting. 

We  sought  the  darkest  side  of  life  in  China  and  found  in  it  all  the 
barrenness,  yet  hideous  cunning,  ferocity  and  cruelty  of  the  middle 
ages.  The  foreign  concessions  of  Shanghai  are  guarded  by  municipal 
police,  composed  of  Chinese,  Europeans  and  Indians  (Sepoys  or  Seiks), 
and  these  minions  of  the  law  are  controlled  by  a  superintendent,  cap- 
tain and  corps  of  inspectors.    The  headquarters  of  the  municipal  gov- 


44  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

eminent,  police  and  other  departments  are  located  in  a  large  brick 
building  on  the  Foo  Chow  Road,  arid  toward  the  edifice  Mrs.  Mcll- 
rath,  a  Mr.  Burton,  an  Englishman,  who  had  joined  us,  and  myself 
directed  our  steps  on  Feb.  12.  We  were  met  by  Superintendent  Mc- 
Kenzie  and  Inspector  Ramsey,  both  gentlemen  who  had  served  Great 
Britain  for  many  years  in  various  capacities  as  crime  suppressors,  and 
they  at  once  showed  us  the  workings  of  the  system  as  applied  in  China. 
Mr.  Ramsey  placed  a  Chinese  detective  at  our  service  to  accompany  us 
to  one  of  the  native  prisons  of  the  old  city.  Our  guide  was  Kin  Lung, 
a  silk-robed,  long-cued  celestial,  who  spoke  English  fluently  and 
smoked  cigarettes  incessantly.  He  was  the  best  we  could  have 
selected,  and  thoroughly  did  he  perform  his  duties.  We  entered  the 
city  by  a  route  never  selected  by  professional  guides  to  conduct  tour- 
ists, and  passed  through  alleys  and  streets  where  the  presence  of  for- 
eigners was  as  strange  a  sight  as  in  the  far  interior.  There  were  few 
prisoners  in  durance  on  that  day,  as  the  morrow  was  the  Chinese  New 
Year  and  all  who  could  obtain  bail  had  been  released  for  the  occasion. 
Those  who  remained  were  pacing  back  and  forth  in  the  long,  steel-rod 
cages  which  formed  a  sort  of  outside  porch  to  each  row  of  cells.  Each 
prisoner  was  bound  to  a  mate  by  a  long  chain,  riveted  to  a  steel  band 
about  his  waist.  The  interior  of  the  prison  was  dark,  gloomy  and 
foul.  The  floor  was  covered  with  damp  straw  and  no  light  found  its 
way  into  this  tomb,  save  through  the  bars  at  the  front  door.  There 
were  more  than  two  hundred  prisoners  confined  here,  a  building  15x60 
feet,  and  not  a  bed,  blanket  or  bench  to  be  seen.  Food  was  not  fur- 
nished, not  even  uncooked  rice,  the  incarcerated  ones  being  fed  by 
friends  upon  the  outside  and  by  the  charitable  visitors. 

The  execution  and  punishment  ground  was  next  visited  and  entered 
by  a  small  door  at  the  back  end  of  the  jail.  The  area  was  simply  a 
clayed-floor  space,  one  end  devoted  to  a  canopied  stand  from  which  the 
officials  viewed  the  punishment.  Stakes  and  pillars  standing  upright 
in  the  soil  told  of  horrors  often  perpetrated  in  the  name  of  justice, 
and  at  one  side  was  a  bamboo  fence  inclosure,  which  concealed  some- 
thing I  divined  was  of  import.  When  I  started  for  this  inclosure  a 
warning  call  from  the  jailer  notified  me  not  to  attempt  to  approach 
nearer,  but  tossing  him  a  silver  piece  I  walked  behind  the  fence.  I 
beheld  an  iron  cage  about  ten  feet  square,  in  which  hung  a  half  naked 
coolie.  His  head  was  held  upright  by  a  chain  about  his  neck,  and  his 
cue  was  fastened  to  the  bars  above.  His  body  was  supported  by  an 
iron  bar,  upon  which  he  sat  astride,  but  to  each  foot  was  attached  a 
bamboo  basket  which  contained  a  heavy  load  of  bricks.  The  arms 
were  outstretched  by  chains,  fastened  to  the  sides  of  the  cage,  and 
these  were  drawn  taut  by  twisting  them  with  a  bamboo  pole.    At  first? 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  OX  WHEELS.  45 

sight  I  thought  the  man  was  dead.  The  tendons  on  the  back  of  the 
legs  and  under  the  knees  stood  out  in  rigid  Hues;  the  abdomen  was 
caved  in,  and  in  sharp  outlines  the  ribs  and  chest  bones  looked  as  if 
covered  with  parchment;  the  face,  yellow  in  color,  was  deathly,  the 
eyes  sunken,  the  lips  purple  and  the  lower  jaw  dropped.  As  I  glanced 
at  this  horrible  sight  I  called  to  my  wife  to  keep  away.  At  the  sound 
of  my  voice,  the  eyelids  of  the  tortured  wretch  raised  slowly.  For  a 
moment  the  gaze  seemed  to  rest  upon  us.  and  the  parched  and  swollen 
lips  made  an  effort  to  form  some  words.  Then  the  lids  fell  heavily, 
as  if  in  despair.  The  body  had  given  up  its  fight  against  death,  and 
the  soul  had  departed  on  its  long  journey. 

In  less  than  two  months  the  Inter  Ocean  cyclists  were  participants 
in  the  celebration  of  three  distinct  New  Years,  the  Japanese  New 
Year,  on  Dec.  25;  the  Christian  on  Jan.  1,  and  the  Chinese  celebration 
on  Feb.  13.  There  is  no  greater  holiday  in  China  than  the  first 
day  of  the  year.  So  religiously  are  the  festivities  observed  that  the 
natives  put  aside  their  absorbing  passion  of  money-earning  and  all 
business  ceases  on  the  night  of  Feb.  12,  until  the  morning  of  the  20th. 
Shops,  even  to  the  cigar,  drug  and  candy  stores,  close,  and  supplies  for 
house,  ship  and  hotel  must  be  purchased  beforehand  to  last  a  week. 
Yessels  which  arrive  must  remain  in  port,  for  custom-house  and  con- 
sulate are  closed,  and  as  for  loading  and  unloading,  the  lowest  coolie 
would  feel  insulted  if  a  gold  dollar  were  offered  him  for  an  hour's 
work  during  the  festal  week.  The  holiday  garb  of  men  and  women  is 
beyond  my  power  to  describe,  but.  this  pen  picture  of  one  lady  of 
fashion  whom  we  saw,  is  by  Mrs.  Mcllrath,  and  I  think  it  worthy  of 
reproduction: 

"She  was  extremely  pretty,"  says  Mrs.  Mcllrath,  "just  like  a  fan- 
tastic doll.  She  was  painted  a  dead  white,  her  cheeks  tinted  pink,  her 
lips  brightly  reddened  and  her  eyebrows  penciled  black.  Her  eyes 
were  as  dark  and  pretty  as  a  baby's.  Her  hair  was  smoothed  back 
from  her  forehead  and  descending  in  a  curve  in  front  of  her  ears,  was 
coiled  neatly  in  a  polished  ball  at  one  side  on  the  back.  Around  the 
upper  part  the  coil  was  a  coronet  of  tiny  white  flowers,  and  fastening 
the  coils  were  four  ivory  stick-pins.  Six  little  ornaments  of  tinsel 
danced  from  gilt  pins  thrust  in  her  hair,  and  large  gold  and  jade  ear- 
rings were  fastened  in  her  ears.  Her  blouse  was  beautiful.  The  body 
was  of  blue  brocaded  satin,  with  a  collarette  of  gold  and  silver  braid 
stitched  upon  yellow  silk,  winch  fell  like  a  cape,  and  the  sleeves,  cut 
large  and  loose,  were  ornamented  to  J.he  elbow  with  the  same  beautiful 
designs.  Her  trousers  were  of  pale  pink  satin  with  apple-green  figures, 
and  her  tiny  shoes,  no  longer  than  my  finger,  were  of  blue  satin  with 
ermine  around  the  borders  at  the  top.    She  had  fully  a  dozen  bracelets 


46  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

on  one  arm  and  bells  on  her  ankles.  Her  gloves  were  of  black  silk, 
fingerless  mitts,  the  back  stitched  with  gold  wire  in  beautiful  scrolls,  and 
her  umbrella  was  carried  by  two  servants." 

Our  Chinese  passports  from  Pekin  arrived  on  March  1,  and  from 
the  date  of  their  reception  till  the  time  we  left  China,  I  ceased  to  be 
H.  Darwin  Mcllrath,  becoming  Mo  Chee  Sah,  at  least  so  the  impressive 
document  stated,  with  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  a  low-class  Chi- 
nese mandarin.  The  letter  from  Minister  Denby,  which  accompanied 
the  passport,  advised  me  to  go  exclusively  by  that  name  and  use  while 
in  the  Empire  the  Chinese  form  of  card  printed  in  Chinese  characters. 
Accordingly  I  visited  a  Chinese  printer,  presented  my  passport  and 
asked  that  he  print  me  an  appropriate  card.  The  next  day  a  coolie 
left  at  our  room  a  package  of  red  paper  slips,  each  two  and  a  half  by 
six  inches,  bearing  three  black  characters.  They  were  my  "visiting 
cards."    On  inquiry  it  developed  that  this  was  the  proper  fashion. 

The  passport  was  written  upon  a  sheet  of  coarse  paper  three  by 
four  feet  in  size,  the  characters  being  traced  in  black  and  red  ink, 
the  edges  profusely  decorated  with  signatures  of  Pekin  officials.  In 
the  center  was  a  column  of  characters  representing  cities  and  towns, 
around  which  a  red  circle  was  painted.  The  cities  inside  and  touched 
with  the  circle  were  those  I  had  permission  to  visit.  Those  outside  were 
excluded.  We  had  been  long  enough  in  China  to  learn  of  the  lamentable 
lack  of  hotels  and  inns  in  the  interior.  Knowing  that  for  the  most 
part  we  should  have  to  carry  our  own  bedding  and  food,  we  purchased 
and  added  to  the  outfit  with  which  we  left  Chicago  two  flannel  blan- 
kets, a  shallow  frying  pan,  a  tin  plate,  which  also  formed  a  cover 
to  the  frying  pan,  a  knapsack  and  canteen.  My  '-battery"  of  three 
guns  was  augmented  by  a  double-barrel  hammerless  shotgun,  the  barrels 
and  stock  of  which  were  sawed  off,  and,  in  addition,  I  carried  a  short, 
heavy  knife  resembling  the  Cuban  machete.  A  case  of  beef  tea  had 
a  place  in  our  luggage,  and  as  we  had  an  abundance  of  an  American 
.brand  of  malted  milk  already  with  us,  we  were  assured  that  we 
would  pass  no  such  hungry  days  as  we  often  experienced  in  our  ride 
to  the  Pacific  Coast. 

The  afternoon  of  March  3  Mrs.  Mcllrath  and  I  mounted  our 
luggage-laden  wheels,  and,  after  shaking  hands  with  friends,  rolled  out 
upon  the  broad  Bund  upon  the  third  stage  of  our  long  ride.  By 
March  6  we  were  a  hundred  miles  from  the  civilized  coast,  and 
already  we  appreciated  the  fact  that  our  journey  across  the  walled 
empire  would  not  be  "a  thing  of  beauty  and  a  joy  forever."  The 
cries  of  the  natives  as  they  caught  sight  of  us  silently  gliding  by 
on  our  wheels  was  strange.  The  first  impression  they  received  from 
the  unusual   sight   seemed   that   of   superstitious   dread.    Not  a  few 


A.ROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS.  47 

were  angry  and  made  threatening  gestures,  pointing  in  the  direction 
of  Shanghai,  as  if  warning  us  to  turn  back.  Our  cyclometers  showed 
the  distance  to  be  28  miles  when  our  first  difficulty  presented  itself. 
It  was  that  of  a  wide  and  deep  creek,  without  bridge  and  without 
ferry.  After  a  quarter  of  an  hour  spent  in  exploring  the  banks  la 
vain  search  for  the  boatman,  we  came  across  a  houseboat  hidd  n 
in  the  brush.  It  was  owned  by  two  French  gentlemen,  who  were 
having  a  pleasure  ride  as  far  as  Su  Chow.  Canals  are  the  highways  of 
China,  and  in  going  overland  from  place  to  place,  one  must  follow 
these  filthy,  stagnant  streams.  Our  friends  from  France,  with  the 
politeness  and  courtesy  characteristic  of  their  nation,  invited  us  to 
become  their  guests  upon  the  house-boat  as  far  as  Su  Chow,  assuring 
us  that  the  journey  on  wheel  was  almost  impossible.  The  Inter  Ocean 
tourists  boarded  the  trim  craft,  their  wheels  stowed  forward,  and 
relieving  their  backs  of  the  blankets  and  luggage,  made  themselves 
at  home. 

Our  hosts  had  had  considerable  experience  in  China  shooting  and 
trading,  and  with  anecdote  of  adventure  and  travel  the  time  passed 
rapidly  until  the  supper  hour.  An  expert  Chinese  cook  prepared  a 
hearty  meal  of  duck,  pheasant  and  bamboo  sprouts,  and  after  an 
hour's  smoking  Mrs.  Mcllrath  retired  to  the  only  "state  room"  on 
board,  while  the  owners  of  the  boat  and  I.  rolled  up  in  blankets, 
slept  on  the  floor  of  the  cabin.  The  coolies  towing  the  boat  d:d 
nut  cease  their  labors  until  after  10  o'clock,  and  as  they  resumed  towing 
before  daylight,  when  I  woke  at  7  the  next  morning  we  had  covered 
almost  30  miles.  Breakfasl  over,  with  our  hosts  we  took  a  short  walk 
on  the  banks  of  the  canal,  made  a  few  side  trips  into  the  brush,  and 
returned  to  the  boat  enriched  by  a  dozen  pigeons  and  a  pheasant. 
After  our  return  to  the  boat  I  brought  forth  the  great  red-sealed 
document  which  the  Chinese  magistrate  had  given  me  in  Shanghai, 
and  asked  if  any  of  the  natives  in  the  crew  could  decipher  the  purport 
of  the  document  as  writt<  n  on  the  envelope.  It  was  this  document 
which  had  caused  us  to  travel  by  way  of  Su  Chow,  otherwise  we  should 
have  taken  steamer  to  Chin  Kiang.  about  <;o  miles  up  the  Yang-tse- 
kiang  proper,  and  there  begun  our  ride.  I  had  inquired  at  Shanghai  of 
foreigners  acquainted  with  the  Chinese  mandarin  language,  but  all 
I  could  learn  was  that  the  document  was  addressed  to  the  Toa  Foi  at 
Su  Chow,  and  friends  advised  me  to  deliver  it.  The  mystery  did  uot 
please  Mrs.  Mcllrath,  but  after  deliberation  I  decided  to  take  chances. 
Su  Chow  is  a  great  dumping  ground  for  criminals,  and  the  document 
was  an  order  intended  to  reveal  to  me  more  of  Chinese  customs. 


48  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

IN   THE   AUGUST   PRESENCE  OF  THE   TAO   TAI — THE  PRIVILEGED   GUESTS  AT  AN 
EXECUTION — FANATICS   PURSUE   THE    "FOREIGN   DEVILS." 

At  S  o'clock  on  the  evening  of  March  4  our  boat  moored  at  the 
locks  of  the  Grand  Canal  at  Su  Chow,  but  the  hour  was  so  late 
and  the  streets  appeared  so  dirty  and  uncertain,  that  Mrs.  McILar.h 
and  I  remained  on  board  until  morning.  Su  Chow  is  a  typical  Chinese 
city,  and  our  entrance  thereto  was  an  event  to  the  natives.  Imme- 
diately after  breakfast  I  dispatched  a  message  to  the  Toa  Toi,  bearing 
one  of  my  Chinese  cards  and  the  mysterious  packet.  In  an  hour  the 
messenger  returned  accompanied  by  four  chair  bearers  and  a  score 
of  soldiers.  They  were  to  conduct  us  into  the  presence  of  the  Toa 
Toi.  The  mandarin  received  us  in  state  robes,  seated  upon  a  high 
chair,  and  over  his  head  was  held  a  large  umbrella.  As  we  approached 
him,  he  graciously  descended  from  his  throne  and  saluted  us  with 
a  low  bow.  Mr.  Charles  Lewis,  an  American  trader,  acted  as  inter- 
preter, and  as  he  spoke  Chinese  fluently,  the  mystery  of  the  document 
aud  our  reception  at  the  palace  was  soon  explained.  Mrs.  Mcllrath 
and  I  were  not  only  to  see  more  of  Chinese  customs,  but  were  the 
guests  of  the  mandarin.  The  document  further  specified  that  we 
should  witness  the  execution  of  a  woman  who  had  murdered  two 
others  on  account  of  her  husband,  and  at  the  palace  we  were  to  remain 
until  orders  came  for  the  execution.  "Seng  chee"  was  the  mode  of 
death  to  which  the  woman  was  sentenced.  This  meant  "thirty-six 
cuts,"  so  inflicted  upon  the  body  as  to  terribly  mutilate  but  not  prove 
immediately  fatal.  The  order  for  execution  did  not  arrive  until  March 
7.  The  intervening  days,  spent  in  the  palace  from  the  time  of  our 
arrival,  were  devoted  to  our  express  entertainment,  a  Chinese  boy 
who  spoke  English  well  having  been  brought  from  Shanghai  expressly 
to  serve  as  our  interpreter  and  guide. 

It  was  he  who  awakened  us  on  the  morning  of  the  executiou 
with  the  news  that  "the  papers"  had  come.  Mrs.  Mcllrath  had  no 
wish  to  view  the  horrible  scene  soon  to  be  enacted,  and  as  I  left  the 
room  she  hid  her  face  within  her  hands  and  begged  me  not  to  mention 
the  proceedings  upon  my  return.  The  mandarin  awaited  me  in  the 
state  room,  and  with  much  forethought  had  ordered  two  bottles  of 
champagne  with  which  to  brace  our  nerves.  A  moment  later  we  were 
on  our  way  to  the  court  yard  in  the  rear  of  the  palace,  a  retinue 
of  soldiers  surrounding  us.  Two  guards  dragged  the  woman  directly 
before  the  pavilion  we  occupied.  She  fell  to  her  knees,  and  as  she 
beat  the  ground  with  her  forehead,  begging  for  mercy,  the  mandarin's 
secretary  read  a  few  words  from  a  scroll,  and  the  poor  wretch  was 


50  '  AROUND  THE  WORLD  OX  WHEELS. 

sentenced.  Two  soldiers  tied  the  woman  to  a  post  in  an  upright  posi- 
tion, her  feet  resting  upon  a  heavy  block  of  wood.  The  white  bandage 
which  had  bound  her  forehead  was  removed  and  in  its  place  a  belt 
was  applied  which  held  her  head  immovable.  The  hands  were  tied 
behind  the  post,  each  one  separately.  When  the  preparations  were 
over,  the  assistant  stepped  back,  and  the  executioners,  like  their 
victim,  naked  to  the  waist,  and  with  knives  in  hand,  prostrated  them- 
selves at  our  feet.  The  chief  butcher  took  his  place  by  the  woman's 
left  side,  and  a  knife  gleamed.  Then  one  of  her  ears  was  thrown 
upon  the  ground.  A  few  seconds  more  and  the  other  ear  was  sliced 
in  the  same  manner.  Her  eyes  no  longer  glanced  wildly  from  sLle 
to  side,  following  the  movements  of  her  torturers,  but  appeared  fixed 
upon  mine,  and,  although  I  could  not  understand  her  shrieking  cries, 
I  knew  she  pleaded  to  me  for  mercy— a  mercy  I  could  not  bestow. 
Her  tongue  was  cut  from  her  mouth,  and  at  each  mutilation  a  secretary 
told  off  the  number  of  the  slashes.  When  he  counted  ten,  I  braced 
myself  for  a  glimpse  at  the  sickening  sight,  and  where  had  been  but 
a  few  moments  before  a  woman's  face,  there  was  but  a  bloody,  unrec- 
ognizable ball.  With  the  regularity  of  a  machine  the  butchers  wielded 
their  cleaver.  When  I  next  looked  it  gave  me  satisfaction  to  know 
that  death  had  come  to  the  relief  of  the  wretched  woman  before  the 
entire  thirty-six  cuts  had  been  administered. 

Before  leaving  Su  Chow  we  visited  the  hospital  which  is  conducted 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Southern  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
The  institution  is  in  charge  of  Dr.  W.  H.  Park,  a  typical  Southerner, 
courteous  and  hospitable,  who  seemed  devoted  to  his  noble  work 
among  his  heathen  patients,  and  to  the  medical  education  of  a  small 
class  of  Chinese  students.  His  corps  of  assistants  included,  besides 
his  wife,  Dr.  Annie  Walter,  Dr.  J.  B.  Fern,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  D.  S.  Ander- 
son, and  the  Misses  Atkinson,  Hearn  and  Gaither.  The  cost  of  sus- 
taining the  hospital  is  paid  by  the  Methodist  Mission,  but  all  money 
derived  from  patients  and  from  outside  visits  by  Dr.  Park,  which  is 
considerable,  is  devoted  to  the  hospital  fund. 

At  Wu  Sib.  we  were  the  guests  of  Dr.  Walters  for  several  days 
before  we  departed  for  Ching  Kiang.  What  few  roails  China  possesses 
are  mere  foot  paths,  and  in  the  Eastern  districts,  where  clay  is  the 
principal  superficial  soil,  six  months  of  each  year  these  paths  are 
impassable  save  to  foot  passengers.  Our  appearance,  therefore,  upon 
bicycles  on  roads  where  the  wheelbarrow  is  the  only  wheel  ever  seen, 
stirred  the  natives  to  the  wildest  pitch.  The  bicycle  is  an  unknown 
quantity  upon  the  Grand  Canal,  none  besides  Lens,  the  St.  Louisan 
who  lost  his  life  in  Armenia,  having  ever  passed  that  way  until  Mrs. 
Mcllrath  and  myself  appeared.    The  "devil  carriages,"  as  they  called 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS.  51 

our  wheels,  were  too  much  for  their  nerves  to  bear.  Six  miles  up 
the  Grand  Canal  we  encountered  the  first  village,  and  as  the  tow 
path  ceased,  and  the.  only  route  through  was  by  the  main  street,  our 
speed  was  checked  and  we  were  prepared  for  the  reception  by  the 
mob  which  we  knew  would  turn  up.  By  repeated  cries  of  warning 
I  kept  the  passage  clear  in  front,  but  no  sooner  had  Mrs.  Mcllratb. 
passed  than  the  mob  closed  in.  Hooting  and  jeering,  they  followed 
at  our  heels,  the  larger  and  heavier  knocking  down  and  walking 
over  the  weaker  and  younger.  Their  discordant  howls  were  deafening, 
and  when  the  end  of  the  village  sireet  finally  appeared  I  signaled 
Mrs.  McIIrath  for  a  sprint,  and  away  we  sped,  with  a  shower  of  clods 
after  us.  We  traveled  for  thirty  or  forty  miles  along  the  banks  of  the 
canal  passing  boats  under  sail,  the  crews  of  which  shouted  as  we 
rolled  along,  until  at  last  we  sighted  the  south  gate  of  Chang  Chow, 
about  5  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  Selecting  a  [place  where  we  could 
be  protected  from  the  wind,  we  stacked  our  wheels  and  prepared  for 
lunch.  A  small  spirit  lamp  boiled  the  muddy  water  taken  from 
the  canal.  We  filtered  this  through  a  little  pocket  contrivance  and 
made  each  a  cup  of  beef  tea.  We  had  expected  to  avoid  being  bothered 
by  curious  natives,  stopping,  where  we  did,  one  mile  from  the  city, 
but  before  we  had  finished  eating  a  dozen  coolies  and  as  many  boys 
gathered  around  us,  and  with  signs  attempted  to  ascertain  who  we 
were  and  whei*e  we  were  from.  Each  boat  that  passed  us  hailed 
us  cordially,  but  it  was  not  until  four  hours  after  that  a  boat  con- 
taining a  party  of  missionaries,  friends  of  ours,  arrived,  and  we  were 
taken  on  board  and  put  away  for  the  night.  House-boats  in  China, 
where  obtainable,  are  always  preferable  to  inns,  and  it  is  well  for 
one  touring  the  country  to  attempt  arriving  at  the  water's  edge 
by  dusk. 

After  a  good  breakfast  the  next  morning  and  a  thorough  inspection 
of  our  wheels,  we  bade  farewell  to  our  friends  on  the  boat  and  set 
out  for  Ching  Kiang.  The  streets  in  Chang  Chow  were  very  fair,  and 
we  made  good  speed  through  the  city.  Our  appearance  created  a 
great  commotion,  but  many  of  the  crowd  who  clattered  after  us  had 
heard  of  our  reception  by  various  notables  and  mandarins,  and  they 
saluted  respectfully,  at  the  same  time  assisting  in  clearing  a  way 
for  us.  Once  on  the  open,  we  sighted  the  telegraph  poles,  and  by 
following  in  their  direction  were  soon  on  the  Grand  Canal  once  more. 
By  noon  we  had  covered  forty  milvjs,  pausing  for  dinner  at  a  small 
village.  As  we  sat  in  the  dingy,  queer-smelling  restaurant  the  sky 
darkened  and  rain  began  to  fall.  We  saw  the  possibility  of  reaching 
Tan  Yan  before  night  growing  less  with  each  drop  of  moisture, 
but  as  the  water  did  not  fall  in  quantities  sufficient  to  make  the 


52  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

clay  path  treacherous,  we  mounted  our  wheels,  determined  to  cover 
every  mile  we  could  before  the  downpour  came.  At  3  o'clock  we 
sighted  a  high  wall,  which  Ave  knew  to  be  that  encircling  the  city 
of  Pen  In.  We  made  no  stop  in  the  city,  pedaling  around  the 
town,  having  been  warned  not  to  venture  within  its  limits.  We 
traveled  all  afternoon  in  a  drizzle,  and  when  the  rain  began  to  fall 
in  sheets,  about  5  o'clock,  we  were  lucky  in  having  a  boat  pass  us 
on  the  canal.  We  hailed  the  craft,  and  by  displaying  a  silver  dollar 
obtained  shelter  for  the  night. 

The  following  morning,  Saturday,  March  21,  we  again  mounted 
our  wheels  and  took  to  the  tow-path.  Though  the  ground  was  soft 
and  treacherous,  we  reached  Tan  Yan  at  10  o'clock.  It  was  amusing 
to  observe  the  effect  of  our  bicycles  upon  the  natives.  Farmers  and 
laborers  in  the  fields  dropped  their  implements  soon  as  they  sighted  us 
and  ran  to  the  roadside  to  view  us  in  blank  amazement,  but  if  I 
stopped  and  attempted  to  engage  them  in  conversation  they  directly 
ran  for  the  interior  again.  Some  of  the  people  we  passed  with  wheel- 
barrows left  the  vehicles  in  the  path  and  sought  refuge  in  the  rice 
fields.  A  steam  street  roller  could  not  have  created  greater  consterna- 
tion among  a  troop  of  wild  ponies  than  our  innocent  rubber-tired 
vehicles  did  among  the  country  folk  of  China.  Several  times  we 
thought  we  had  lost  our  way,  so  obscure  had  the  path  become,  and 
had  it  not  been  for  our  compass,  the  knowledge  that  Ching  Kiang 
lay  directly  north,  and  an  occasional  friendly  farmer,  we  would 
never  have  found  our  way.  Seventeen  miles  from  Tan  Yan  we  sighted 
the  pagoda  of  the  south  gate  of  Ching  Kiang,  and  entering  upon  a 
stone-bedded  road,  we  plowed  along  at  lively  speed  to  the  very  entrance 
of  the  city  wall.  Inquiry  for  "Yen  Isweesun"  (foreigners)  put  to 
the  crowd  before  us  was  fruitful,  and  under  the  escort  of  half  a 
dozen  young  men  we  were  led  through  a  maze  of  small  streets,  and 
the  way  pointed  out  to  a  group  of  small  houses  which  dotted  the 
summits  of  a  chain  of  hills.  The  United  States  flag  floated  over 
one  residence,  and  with  thanks  to  our  guides  we  turned  to  leave  them. 
The  Chinese  who  had  piloted  us  blocked  our  path,  demanding  a 
reward.  By  gestures  they  made  it  known  that  they  would  consider 
the  account  settled  if  I  would  let  one  man  ride  my  wheel.  Nothing 
could  have  suited  me  better,  and  I  surrendered  it  at  once.  Two 
men  held  the  wheel  while  the  third  mounted  it,  and  in  less  than  a 
minute  he  had  taken  a  plunge  into  a  ditch  of  muddy  water,  changing 
his  ambition  to  ride  into  one  of  disgust  for  the  wheel  and  respectful 
admiration  for  myself. 

The  United  States  Consul,  Gen.  A.  C.  Jones,  occupied  one  of  the 
handsomest   houses  in   Ching   Kiang.     We   called   upon   him   on   the 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS.  53 

afternoon  of  our  arrival,  but  found  him  absent.  However,  we  were 
taken  into  his  office  and  entertained  by  Mrs.  Jones  until  the  arrival 
of  her  husband,  who  had  been  looked  up  by  a  native  servant  with 
the  information  that  "two  men"  had  come  to  see  him  "walking  on 
wheels." 


CHAPTER  X. 


GENERAL  JONES   ABLY    REPRESENTS    UNCLE     SAM     AND     HIS   GOVERNMENT — 
MUD  DELAYS  THE  TOURISTS — MISTAKEN  FOR  A  MISSIONARY  M.    D. 

Gen.  Jones,  a  tall,  broad-shouldered  man,  whose  handsome  face 
was  crowned  with  silvery  white  hair  and  ornamented  by  a  flowing 
mustache  and  imperial,  impressed  me  as  one  of  the  most  courteous 
and  affable  gentlemen  with  whose  acquaintance  I  had  ever  been 
honored.  There  are  many  reminiscences  told  of  him  and  his  admirable 
dealings  in  national  affairs  with  the  Chinese,  and  none  better  is  related 
than  how  he  adjusted  the  claim  of  his  government  arising  out  of  the 
great  riot  of  Ching  Kiang  in  1889.  The  riot,  it  may  be  remembered, 
resulted  in  the  burning  of  the  British  Consulate,  the  looting  of  the 
American  Consulate,  and  the  death  of  Mrs.  Mansfield,  wife  of  Her 
Majesty's  Consul,  from  shock  and  prostration.  The  claims  of  the 
British  government  were  first  presented  to  the.  Tao  Tai,  and  a'fter 
a  long  period  of  wrangling  the  amount  of  damages  was  considerably 
cut  down  and  the  matter  was  pigeon-holed  for  future  consideration. 
When  it  came  the  American  Consul's  turn  to  present  his  bill,  he 
did  so  without  waste  of  words.  It  is  told  of  him,  by  none  other 
than  Mr.  Mansfield,  the  English  Consul,  that  Gen.  Jones  disdained 
the  seat  offered  him  at  the  meeting  of  the  Commissions  of  Arbitration, 
and  remained  standing  in  dramatic  attitude  before  the  Tao  Tai.  When 
that  official  had  listened  to  the  American  claim,  and  expostulated  that 
the  figures  seemed  exorbitant,  Gen.  Jones  drew  himself  up  and 
forthwith  gave  an  exhibition  of  Western  ideas  and  American  principles. 
Addressing  the  Tao  Tai,  he  said: 

"Sir,  I  represent  a  people  whom  your  horde  of  fanatic  savages 
have  maliciously  wronged  and  robbed.  I  have  presented  the  claim; 
it  lies  before  you.  I  do  not  ask  that  it  be  paid;  I  do  not  supplicate  you 
that  it  be  settled,  but,  as  the  representative  of  the  United  States 
Government.  I  demand,  sir,  that  it  be  paid,  unaltered,  unchanged  and 
in  its  entirety." 

The  Consul  leaned  over  the  table,  one  hand  with  clenched  fist 
supporting  his  body,  the  other  resting  upon  his  hip,  as  if  to  draw 
a  six-shooter,  and  with  determination  stamped  upon  his  countenance, 


54  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

he  burled  the  words,  rather  than  spoke  them.  The  Tao  Tai  first 
appeared  amazed,  and  finally  he  actually  trembled  with  fear.  The 
entire  scene  was  theatrical,  but  the  climax  caused  those  assembled 
more  astonishment  still.  After  a  hurried  whispered  conversation  the 
Chinese  officials  nodded  pleasantly  to  Gen.  Jones,  and  the  Consul  took 
his  seat.    His  claim  had  been  accepted. 

We  had  already  been  considerably  delayed  in  our  progress  to 
Nanking,  so  charming  and  hospitable  had  been  Gen.  Jones  and  his 
wife,  and,  in  spite  of  warm  invitations  to  remain  longer,  Mrs.  Mcllrath 
and  I  left  Ching  Kiang  at  noon  on  March  22.  Gen.  Jones  had  ordered 
the  way  cleared  for  us,  sending  ahead  a  native  officer.  We  had  several 
days  of  hot,  dusty  riding,  which  was  made  all  the  more  difficult 
by  the  increased  amount  of  baggage  which  we  earned.  Nanking,  our 
objective  point,  is  the  Southern  capital  of  the  empire,  the  home  of 
the  Kai  King  rebels;  the  site  of  -:he  famous  porcelain  palace  and  of 
the  great  Confucian  temple,  a  city  which  is  the  greatest  of  all  Chinese 
educational  points,  as  well  as  the  most  historical,  offering  opportunity 
for  the  examination  of  28,000  students  at  one  place  at  one  time.  Before 
entering  the  city  we  visited  the  Ming  tomb,  the  burial  place  of  the 
Emperor  Hung  Woo,  who  reigned  during  the  fourteenth  century,  and 
dying  at  the  Imperial  Palace  was  interred  at  the  foot  of  the  Purple 
mountain.  The  tomb  itself  is  simply  a  small  hill,  with  nothing 
extraordinary  appearing  about  its  graceful,  rolling  eminence.  Tradition 
has  it,  however,  that  in  its  depth  reposes  a  magnificent  vault,  which  has 
been  completely  covered  by  the  faithful  subjects  who  visited  the  tomb, 
each  one  depositing  a  handful  of  earth  upon  and  about  the  vault. 
I  bore  a  letter  of  introduction  from  one  of  my  missionary  friends 
to  a  Mr.  Ferguson,  an  American  resident  of  Nanking,  through  whose 
kind  offices  we  were  enabled  to  see  nearly,  if  not  all,  the  points  of 
interest  in  the  historical  Chinese  city,  visiting  the  Bell  tower,  Drum 
tower  and  Examination  Halls  before  our  departure. 

As  Tai  Ping  Foo,  our  next  stopping  place,  was  68  miles  southwest, 
and  over  uncertain  roads,  we  decided  to  remain  the  second  night  at 
the  home  of  Mr.  Ferguson,  and  it  was  not  until  March  23  that  we 
took  our  leave.  We  were  unable  to  get  further  than  fifteen  miles  of 
Tai  Ping  Foo  on  account  of  the  muddy  roads.  The  clay  collected 
by  our  tires  blocked  the  opening  in  forks  and  frames,  the  sprockets 
were  thick  discs  of  the  yellow,  sticky  mass,  and  every  fifty  feet  we 
were  compelled  to  scrape  the  mud  off  in  order  to  move  a  wheel. 
Removing  the  chain  from  each  wheel  helped  matters  slightly,  but 
so  frequently  did  the  cleaning  process  become  necessary,  that  we  no 
longer  used  a  stick  for  the  work,  but  simply  scraped  the  mud  from 
our  tires   and   frames   with   our   hands.     Darkness   overtook   us   and 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  OX  WHEELS.  55 

added  to  our  discomfort.  The  path,  only  three  feet  wide,  and  bu'.lr. 
as  an  embankment,  was  as  difficult  to  keep  upon  as  a  givased  plank. 
Mrs.  Mcllratb  and  I  fell  time  and  again.  Bridges  had  to  be  crossed 
on  bands  and  knees,  and  so  clogged  with  mud  were  our  shoes  that 
our  legs  ached  from  lifting  our  feet.  We  encountered  many  difficulties 
since  leaving  Chicago,  but  none  so  hopeless  and  with  so  little  promise 
of  a  night's  rest  as  the  time  we  tried  to  make  Tai  Ping  Foo.  Mrs. 
Mcllratb  gave  way  to  her  feelings,  and  sat  down  upon  one  of  the 
muddy  embankments  and  indulged  in  a  good  cry.  We  wandered 
through  the  mud  and  rain  the  greater  part  of  the  night,  plunging 
through  rice  fields  and  patches  of  mustard  plants,  guided  only  by 
the  feeble  light  shed  by  our  bicycle  lamps.  A  bad  fall  broke  the  glass 
in  my  lantern,  and  we  were  then  forced  to  proceed  only  by  the  dim 
rays  cast  by  the  lamp  on  Mrs.  Mcllrath's  wheel.  Toward  morning 
we  came  to  a  halt  in  front  of  a  mud  hut,  through  the  bamboo  doors 
of  which  we  could  see  the  dying  embers  of  a  fire.  I  shouted  several 
times  before  I  could  raise  any  of  the  occupants.  A  generous  display  of 
silver  pieces  persuaded  them  to  let  us  enter.  The  wife  arose,  cooked 
us  food,  and  made  places  for  us  to  sleep  on  the  floor,  with  the  fire 
at  our  feet.  I  bad  expected  my  bill  to  be  something  enormous  for 
this  great  accommodation,  and  I  was  all  but  stunned  when  our 
host  demanded  only  600  cash.  This  was  equivalent  to  about  00  cents 
of  Uncle  Sam's  money,  which  amount  will  keep  a  large  Chinese  family 
for  a  week.  Tai  Ting  Foo  by  this  time  was  only  three  miles  away, 
and  without  further  incident  we  reached  the  city,  and  though  we 
had  been  awake  the  lesser  part  of  the  day,  we  were  soon  ready  for 
another  night's  rest  in  more  comfortable  quarters. 

A  good  stone  road  for  seven  miles*rendered  it  possible  for  us  to 
ride  out  of  Tai  Ping  Foo  the  next  morning,  but  by  10  o'clock  we  came 
again  to  the  sea  of  mud,  and  were  forced  to  resume  our  walk.  We  were 
successful  in  executing  our  plans  to  reach  the  river  by  dusk,  for 
we  had  concluded  to  take  no  more  chances  in  seeking  shelter  with 
the  farmers.  It  was  comparatively  easy  to  obtain  a  boat  to  sleep 
on,  and  the  yellow-skinned  bandits  took  advantage  of  our  position 
immediately.  They  seemed  to  realize  just  how  badly  we  wanted  a 
boat,  and  forthwith  they  put  the  price  up  to  the  excessive  sum  of 
four  dollars.  But  boat,  we  had  to  have,  and  I  paid  the  sum,  stipulating, 
however,  that  they  were  to  carry  us  to  Wuhu,  seven  miles  distant,  and 
land  us  by  daybreak.  For  the  only  time  in  my  dealings  with  these 
rascally  natives  they  kept  their  word.  When  we  waked  we  were 
in  the  midst,  of  the  shipping  anchored  about  Wuhu.  On  shore  I 
spied  the  Chinese  imperial  customdiouse,  and  who  should  be  stalking 
up   and    down    the    paved    court    before    it    but    our    English    friend 


56  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

Burton,  whom  we  had  met  in  Shanghai!  The  meeting  with  him  spoiled 
our  plans  for  an  immediate  visit  to  Dr.  E.  H.  Hart,  surgeon  of  the 
American  Methodist  Hospital,  as  he  introduced  me  to  Mr.  A.  Knight 
Greyson,  agent  of  the  Jardine-Mattison  Transportation  Company.  So 
genial  was  this  hearty  Britisher  and  his  wife  in  their  invitation  t.) 
luncheon  that  we  could  not  refuse,  and  in  their  cosy  home,  on  the  hulk 
of  the  old  ship  Madras,  we  ate  the  first  good  meal  we  had  enjoyed 
for  three  days.  Our  letter  of  introduction  was  later  presented  to 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Hart,  Avho  not  only  received  us  with  open  arms,  but 
placed  fresh  linen  and  clean  clothes  at  our  disposal. 

It  was  necessary  for  us  to  remain  three  days  in  Wuhu.  Our 
wheels  needed  a  thorough  cleaning,  my  correspondence  had  to  be 
attended  to,  and  our  shoes  and  clothes  were  long  past  due  for  repairs. 
During  our  stay  we  were  dined  on  board  H.  M.  S.  Daphne  and  the 
U.  S.  S.  Detroit.  Visits  to  us  at  Dr.  Hart's  from  officers  of  the  British 
gunboat,  Commander  Newell  of  the  Detroit,  Lieutenant-Commander 
Hawley,  Lieutenants  Evans  and  Desmukes,  the  British  Consul,  Mr. 
Mortimore,  and  the  members  of  the  various  missions  made  time  fly 
rapidly,  aud  though  the  weather  was  most  inclement,  we  were  loathe 
to  leave  on  April  11,  when  the  sun  at  last  showed  himself.  Hard 
riding,  favored  by  delightful  weather,  brought  us  to  Hankow  within 
the  week.  My  generosity  in  this  part  of  the  country  turned  out  to  be 
dangerous  to  the  comfort  of  Mrs.  Mcllrath,  as  it  almost  exhausted 
my  stock  of  medicines.  We  had  stopped  one  Sunday  on  one  of  the 
boats  moored  in  the  river,  and  I  was  there  mistaken  for  a  doctor. 
The  mistake  was  somewhat  excusable,  as  Mrs.  Mcllrath,  in  a  s.  irlt 
of  mischief,  had  told  some  of  the  fishermen  that  I  was  a  "medicine 
man."  I  had  taken  a  short  walk  on  shore  during  the  forenoon,  and 
upon  my  return  to  the  boat  I  found  the  "sick  for  the  day"  mustered 
in  line  along  the  beach.  One  child,  suffering  from  what  the-  missionary 
doctors  call  "rice  stomach,"  or,  in  plainer  English,  indigestion,  was 
the  first  to  attract  my  attention.  I  sounded  the  little  fellow's  abiomsn, 
which  was  so  swollen  that  his  waist  girth  exceeded  his  chest  measure 
by  fourteen  inches,  and  prescribed  and  administered  a  dose  for  him. 
Oue  of  the  sailor's  wives  was  afflicted  with  the  "cash  eye,"  a  poisoned 
and  inflamed  condition  of  the  eye  bi  ought  about  by  handling  the  dirty 
copper  coin  and  then  rubbing  the  eye  with  the  contaminated  fingers. 
The  last  of  my  patients  was  a  young  man  who  suffered  from  a  tooth- 
ache. I  became  on  the  spot  a  practicing  dentist,  cutting  the  gum  away 
from  the  tooth  with  my  pocket  knife,  and  wrenching  the  offender 
from  the  poor  chap's  jaw  with  a  pair  of  bladed  pliers,  which  we  carried 
in  our  repair  kit. 

At  one  of  the  villages  we  had  passed  before  arriving  at  Hankow 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  OX  WHEELS.  57 

we  fell  in  with  a  companion  named  Cunningham.  His  other  name  I 
do  not  remember,  and  it  is  just  as  well  for  his  own  sake  that  I  do  not, 
as  I  cannot  help  saying  that  Cunningham  proved  himself  to  be  the 
most  annoying  part  of  our  baggage.  He  was  a  good  wheelman, 
but  absolutely  without  "backbone,"  and  iu  the  serious  encounters  which 
we  had  with  the  natives,  many  of  them  being  out-and-out  fist  fights, 
Cunningham  proved  the  exception  to  the  rule  that  Englishmen  all  are 
brave  fellows  and  handy  with  their  fists.  He  did  the  most  injudicious 
things,  and  was  directly  responsible  for  several  of  our  skirmishes. 
I  may  mention  that  we  parted  with  him  finally  the  day  he  chided 
Mrs.  Mcllrath  for  not  coming  to  his  assistance  when  ho  had  been 
set  upon  and  knocked  down  by  a  band  of  ruffianly  coolies.  Monday, 
May  18,  1896,  I  have  down  in  my  diary  as  one  of  the  warmest  I  have 
ever  passed  through.  The  air  was  so  humid  and  close  that  riding 
offered  the  only  method  of  creating  a  breeze.  The  hot  tea  we  drank 
at  the  villages  did  not  alleviate  our  sufferings,  and  at  my  suggestion 
we  passed  the  day  in  hard  pedaling.  Toward  the  evening  we  came 
upon  a  grove  of  gunbarrel  trees,  so  called  because  the  trunks  are 
hollow  like  a  gun  barrel.  The  grove  is  situated  upon  the  banks  of 
a  creek,  and  here  we  went  into  camp.  The  weather  remained  torrid. 
and  for  two  days  we  rested  in  the  forest.  A  settlement,  not  far 
distant,  contained  a  market,  at  which  we  purchased  our  supplies,  and 
the  camping  out  was  thus  attended  by  much  less  inconvenience  than 
one  would  imagine. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


INTER   OCEAN   CYCLISTS     ENCOUNTER   AN    ASTATIC   SHYLOCK — HAND-TO-HAND 
CONFLICTS    WITH    THE    COOLIES    IN    SHAZE. 

On  the  eighth  day  of  our  trip  from  Hankow,  Mrs.  Mcllrath  con- 
tracted a  severe  cold,  which  impeded  our  progress  and  caused  me 
great  alarm.  Much  of  the  journey,  on  this  account,  had  to  be  taken 
in  sedan  chairs.  Our  supply  of  tinned  goods  was  also  becoming  low. 
the  oil  we  carried  for  lubricating  was  gone,  and  Cunningham,  as 
if  to  add  his  share  to  the  chain  of  misfortune,  displayed  symptoms 
of  malarial  fever.  As  the  only  resort  we  changed  our  course  in 
the  interior  and  pushed  toward  the  river,  hoping  to  find  some  English 
steamer  which  might  replenish  our  stores.  A  half  day  of  waiting 
on  the  river  bank,  and  a  steamer  hove  in  sight.  The  three  of  us  hoisted 
signals,  and  I  fired  my  pistols,  but  the  steamer  evidently  did  not  see 
us.  and  steamed  on  up  the  river,  displaying  the  English  flag  as  she 
passed.     Though   not  in  such   a  serious  predicament,   our  sensations 


58  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

were  similar  to  those  of  the  shipwrecked  sailor  adrift  on  his  raft 
as  the  solitary  ship  sails  by,  majestic  to  look  upon,  but  to  the  casta- 
way cruel  and  cold.  As  if  in  sympathy  with  our  disappointment,  the 
rain  came  down  in  torrents  as  the  steamer  disappeared  from  view,  and 
we  made  our  way  to  a  settlement  a  few  miles  ahead.  It  was  then 
necessary  for  us  to  cross  the  river,  which  we  did,  but  in  the  most 
unexpected  fashion.  The  lone  ferryman  must  have  been  an  Asiatic 
descendant  of  Shylock,  or  at  least  his  demands  so  indicated,  for  he 
asked  300  cash  to  row  us  100  feet.  To  convey  the  impression  that  we 
were  not  in  such  a  great  hurry  to  be  ferried,  we  sat  down  upon  the 
river  bank  and  began  munching  some  tasteless  cakes  which  Mrs. 
Mcllrath  had  purchased  at  a  restaurant.  The  large  boat  of  a  mandarin 
was  moored  upon  the  opposite  bank,  the  crew  watching  us  intently, 
and  the  official  himself  peering  at  us  from  the  curtained  window  of  his 
cabin.  We  next  observed  the  anchor  of  the  boat  drawn  up  and  the 
craft  making  headway  in  our  direction.  Just  what  was  the  mandarin's 
object  in  crossing  we  could  not  imagine.  A  plank  was  laid  from  the 
shore  to  his  boat,  and  we  were  summoned  on  board.  The  silk-clad 
official  received  us  politely,  offering  the  customary  tea.  One  of  his 
crew,  who  knew  a  bit  of  English,  interpreted  to  him  that  we  desired 
to  cross  the  river.  In  a  moment  our  boat  was  moving,  and  we  soon 
returned  to  the  original  mooring.  It  was  almost  too  much  to  con- 
template! For  the  first  time  we  had  been  rescued  from  the  exorbitant 
charges  of  a  native  by  one  of  his  own  countrymen— a  most  unusual 
interference.  Chinamen  are  very  clannish,  and  seldom  can  they  be 
induced  to  compete  in  prices  when  in  trade  among  themselves,  but 
never  where  a  foreigner  is  concerned.  Delaying  only  long  enough 
to  allow  the  mandarin  to  read  my  passports  and  to  civilly  refuse  his 
invitation  to  remain  on  beard  his  boat  for  the  day  and  night,  we  landed 
and  rode  on  our  way. 

Ten  miles  of  very  fair  path  through  short  grass  brought  us  to  a 
gigantic  rock  arising  from  the  plain  like  a  great  castle.  Under  its 
sheltering  shelves  we  found  a  trio  of  fisher  huts.  We  stopped  at  the 
largest  of  these  and  obtained  permission  to  cook  the  food  which  we 
purchased  from  the  fishermen,  one  of  the  many  luncheons  of  its  kind 
that  we  ate  in  China.  We  stopped  only  long  enough  for  our  repast 
before  setting  out  for  You  Chow.  Before  reaching  the  city  we  had 
a  fierce  hand-to-hand  conflict  with  a  number  of  savage  coolies,  Cun- 
ningham being  almost  annihilated.  He  brought  it  on  himself,  how- 
ever, by  rapping  across  the  knuckles  an  inquisitive  Mongolian  who 
had  dared  to  feel  his  bicycle  tire.  At  You  Chow  we  were  received  in 
great  ceremony  by  the  mandarin  himself,  who  placed  guards  at  our 
disposal,  and  offered  us  every  protection,  going  so  far  as  to  volunteer 


ABOUND  THE  AVORLD  OX  WHEELS.  59 

sending  men  out  to  capture  the  natives  who  had  assaulted  us  with 
clods  and  stones.  The  Tai  Toa  of  the  province  visited  us  the  next 
day  to  make  changes  in  our  passports.  The  Chinese  map  of  China 
was  produced,  and  by  comparing  it  with  the  charts  which  we  carried,  I 
managed  to  show  the  official  the  route  we  had  traveled  since  leaving 
Shanghai.  One  thing  mystified  me.  I  could  not  find  You  Chow  on 
the  native  map.  and  after  many  efforts  I  succeeded  in  making  myself 
understood.  My  breath  was  taken  away  when  the  official  placed  his 
finger  upon  the  character  indicating  the  city,  and  I  learned  for  the 
first  time  that  we  were  twelve  miles  from  the  Yang-Tse-Kiaug  and 
on  the  channel  connecting  with  Tung  Ting  Lake.  We  had  been  lost 
the  day  before  without  knowing  it.  We  had  been  in  the  dread  province 
of  Hunan,  out  of  the  territory  permitted  us  to  travel,  and,  worse 
than  all,  had  put  our  heads  into  the  lion's  jaws  by  coming  into  the 
very  place  where  lawbreakers  are  confined.  I  explained  my  position 
to  the  Tao  Tai  as  well  as  I  could,  and  he  seemed  to  comprehend  it. 
The  next  morning.  Thursday.  May  21,  he  had  us  called,  gave  us  new 
passports  for  the  province  of  Hunan,  and  dispatched  an  escort  of 
coolies  to  see  us  safely  started  upon  the  right  road.  The  issuing  of 
the  passport  to  foreigners  by  a  Tao  Tai,  when  not  compelled  to  do 
so  by  a  Consul,  was  unprecedented,  and  especially  in  our  case,  when 
he  could  have  weighted  us  with  chains,  trussed  us  up  like  pigs  to  a 
pole,  and  had  us  carted  overland  to  Shanghai.  Such  treatment  has 
been  accorded  foreigners  repeatedly. 

It  may  seem  strange  to  Europeans  that  the  Chinese  do  not  under- 
stand their  own  language  when  spoken  by  a  native  of  some  other 
province.  Often  in  the  short  distance  of  twenty  miles  the  dialect  is 
entirely  different.  This  fact  I  ascertained  during  our  tour  through 
Hupeh.  The  Shanghai  resident  is  ignorant  of  the  tongue  of  the 
Azecheun,  and  a  Hupeh  does  not  understand  a  syllable  uttered  by  a 
native  of  Canton.  The  character  used  is  the  same  when  produced  in 
writing,  but  the  sound  given  it  by  the  tongue  is  entirely  different. 
Chinese  also  have  the  idea  that  natives  from  a  distant  province  are 
not  proper  Chinamen.  I  asked  a  native  of  Hankow  to  interpret  what 
a  boatman  was  endeavoring  in  vain  to  say  to  me.  My  friend  from 
Hankow  made  an  effort,  but  gave  it  up  in  disgust. 

"Can't  you  talk  witli  your  own  people"  I  asked,  in  amazement. 
''Can't  you  understand  a  Chinaman?" 

''Chinaman."  he  retorted,  sharply;  "he  no  belong  Chinaman;  he 
belong  Xingpoo-inan." 

And  Ningpoo  is  one  of  the  principal  ports  of  China, 

We  had  some  difficulty  and  inconvenience  in  entering  the  city 
Of  Shaze,  a  city  with  a  record  of  blocd  and  crime  uuequaled  to  any 


GO  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

in  the  Empire.  Little  of  its  importance  is  known  to  foreigners,  or 
in  the  coast  cities,  although  it  is  one  of  the  most  important  towns  on 
the  river  between  Hankow  and  Chung  King.  Possibly  this  is  because 
Shaze  has  not  a  bund,  club  house,  race  track,  or  any  of  the  other  modern 
"conveniences''  of  a  large  city.  Only  recently,  or  since  the  Japanese- 
Chinese  war,  had  it  been  open  as  a  treaty  port,  and  during  my  visit 
there,  two  years  ago,  it  had  but  one  consulate,  the  Japanese.  It  was 
shunned  by  strangers  on  account  of  its  reputation  for  being  extremely 
anti-foreign,  the  ruins  of  a  magnificent  Roman  Catholic  Cathedra!, 
standing  like  a  specter  on  the  river  bank  just  above  the  city,  testifying 
to  this  prejudice.  The  reputation  of  the  place  caused  us  to  be  extremely 
chary  about  entering,  though  we  finally  accomplished  our  aim  under 
unlooked  for  conditions.  The  shore  opposite  Shaze  was  sparsely  settled, 
and  I  was  correct  in  my  conjecture  that  we  could  obtain  shelter  in 
some  hut  across  the  river.  The  farmer  who  accommodated  us  was  an 
unusually  kind  and  intelligent  Chinaman.  We  were  kept  as  his  guests 
three  days  by  rain.  On  the  third  day  I  dispatched  a  messenger  to  the 
Japanese  consul  at  Shaze,  but  the  answer  received,  written  in  Japanese 
characters,  occasioned  me  great  disappointment.  "No  room  for  you; 
proceed  on  your  journey,"  was  the  reply.  I  took  this  to  be  a  Chinese 
trick,  and  accused  the  messenger  of  not  visiting  Shaze  at  all,  but 
writing  the  characters  himself.  Later  I  learned  that  the  letter  had 
been  taken  to  the  Roman  Catholic  Mission  by  mistake.  I  returned  the 
messenger  to  the  city,  and  when  he  came  back,  an  hour  later,  he  was 
accompanied  by  a  native,  who  brought  me  a  letter  which  read: 

"May  26,  Mr  Mcllrath,  opposite  Shaze,  dear  friends:  We  are  received  a  letter  with 
you  and  happy  to  say  to  you  we  are  Christian  Chinese  and  hope  so  are  you.  We  have  got 
good  Chinese  house  in  Shaze  and  hope  you  will  come  see  us.  And  man  will  direct  you 
to  the  right  road  to  travel  this  side,  and  hope  you  will  be  happy  to  receive  you.  We 
are  all  Christians  and  hope  so  you  are.  Respectfully,  S.  Kwei." 

The  evident  hospitality  conveyed  in  the  note  caused  us  to  overlook 
its  ludicrous  wording,  and  following  without  delay  the  "man,"  we 
reached  the  water's  edge  before  we  learned  that  he  had  failed  to  bring 
a  house-boat  with  him.  Directing  him  to  return  to  his  master,  I  gave 
him  a  second  note,  requesting  that  a  craft  be  sent  for  us  on  the  next 
day,  and  expressing  our  happiness  at  the  prospect  of  visiting  Mr. 
Kwei's  house.  By  noon  the  next  day  the  Inter  Ocean  tourists  were 
comfortably  fixed  in  a  well-appointed  Chinese  residence  in  Shaze,  the 
guest  of  Mr.  Kwei.  We  were  detained  in  Shaze  until  Saturday,  May  30, 
and  during  the  time  that  we  were  the  guests  of  our  host  we  were 
dressed  in  the  gaudy  raiment  of  the  wealthy  Chinese.  When  we  left 
Shaze  it  was  upon  a  large  house-boat,  bound  five  miles  above  the 
city. 

Tho  place  scheduled  for  debarking  appeared  dangerous  on  account 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS.  61 

of  the  presence  of  a  wild-eyed,  chattering  mob  of  coolies,  and  I  prevailed 
upon  the  captain  to  take  us  further.  We  traveled  over  night,  and  early 
Sunday  morning  were  landed  at  a  point  which  promised  fair  riding. 
We  were  then  upon  our  last  relay  of  300  miles.  Ichang  was  our  desti- 
nation, and  we  estimated  from  the  point  at  which  the  boat  had  landed 
us  that  we  would  arrive  in  that  city  by  June  1.  There  were  many 
annoyances  and  encounters  on  the  road,  some  of  them  serious,  as,  for 
instance,  a  hay  knife  thrown  at  Mrs.  Mcllrath  by  a  laborer  in  a  wheat 
field.  The  weapon  fell  short,  and  was  caught  in  the  spoke  of  Cun- 
ningham's wheel.  For  the  first  time  in  our  association  did  the  little 
Englishman  act  promptly  and  correctly.  He  dismounted,  and,  picking 
up  the  hay  knife,  threw  it  far  into  the  riv,er.  This  a't  infuriated  the 
Chinaman,  who  drew  another  knife,  and,  calling  to  his  friends,  advanced 
toward  us.  To  make  a  long  story  short,  we  "bluffed"  the  crowd  with 
our  pistols.  The  Chinese  dread  individuals  who  do  not  betray  the 
rage  they  feel  more  than  an  entire  regiment  of  blusterers.  All  of 
which  reminds  me  of  the  well-known  maxim  that  a  "barking  dog 
never  bites." 

When  the  Inter  Ocean  tourists  reached  Ichang  they  were  half-way 
across  China,  with  the  record  to  their  credit  of  GOO  miles  traveled 
through  a  country  never  penetrated  by  a  foreigner  before.  Lenz,  of 
whom  I  have  previously  spoken,  followed  the  direct  route  from 
Shanghai,  or  what  may  be  called  the  "telegraph  line."  Morrison  and 
other  Englishmen  made  the  passage  by  steamer  from  Shanghai,  and 
Stevens  crossed  only  from  Canton  to  Kui  Kiang,  and  thence  to 
Shanghai  by  steamer.  It  took  us  twenty-one  days  to  complete  the 
journey,  and  so  anxious  had  members  of  the  European  colony  at 
Ichang  become  about  us  that,  had  we  not  arrived  when  we  did,  native 
couriers  would  have  been  dispatched  the  next  morning  to  search  the 
country  for  us.  Our  first  stop  in  the  city  was  at  the  postoffice,  where 
I  received  the  note  from  Mr:  Hunter,  a  friend  we  had  met  at  Hankow, 
announcing  that,  he  had  arranged  for  us  to  stop  at  the  American 
Episcopal  Mission,  and  that  to  the  Rev.  II.  C.  Collins  would  be  due 
the  courtesy  of  entertaining  us.  The  first  day  we  spent  in  Ichang 
thoroughly  acquainted  us  with  the  members  of  the  community.  Thrre 
were  scarcely  thirty  foreigners  in  all,  but  each  seemed  anxious  to 
render  our  stay  as  pleasant  as  possible.  We  had  picnics,  tennis  parties 
and  dinners  arranged  in  our  honor,  meeting  many  interesting  char- 
acters, both  native  and  European.  One  of  these  friends,  Tseo  Shoo 
Wen.  an  energetic,  lively  Chinaman,  and  a  man  one  could  well  afford 
to  win  as  a  friend,  was  especially  solicitous  regarding  our  comfort 
and  safety.  Learning  that  we  were  to  travel  through  the  Yang-Tse- 
Kiang  gorges  by  boat  as  far  as  Wan  Hsien,  Mr.  Tseo  oTered  us  as 


62  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

escort  a  gunboat  and  lifeboat.  We  declined,  however,  as  we  had  been 
asked  to  become  the  guests  on  the  house-boat  of  Dr.  Collins,  upon 
which  we  departed  from  Ichang  on  June  15.  Our  route  as  nearly  as 
possible  was  to  go  by  boat  to  Wan  Shien,  thence  overland  to  Chung 
King,  Suifoo,  Yunnan  Foo  Tali  and  Bahme,  the  trip  by  boat  merely 
allowing  us  to  see  the  beginning  of  the  beauty  of  the  marvelous  gorges, 
and  not  in  the  least  rendering  our  trip  any  less  interesting.  In  fact,  as 
the  summer  floods  were  expected  daily,  there  was  greater  hazard 
at  this  time  of  year  on  the  waterways  than  on  land.  We  were  thor- 
oughly stocked  with  bedding  and  canned  provisions  sufficient  for  a 
ten  days'  trip.  We  were  so  fortunate  as  to  secure  as  captain  the  same 
native  who  had  piloted  one  of  my  friends,  Dr.  Morrison,  up  the  river, 
and  he  had  retained  his  own  crew  of  five  strong,  competent  boatmen. 
The  evening  prior  to  our  departure  a  complimentary  dinner  was  given 
in  honor  of  Mrs.  Mcllrath,  and  on  Monday,  June  15,  the  "Defender,"  as 
we  called  our  boat,  hoisted  sail,  and  the  Inter  Ocean  tourists  left  Ichang 
as  they  entered  it,  flying  under  the  beautiful  colors  of  the  United 
States. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


ON    THE    YANG-TSE-KIANG    DURING   A    FLOOD — TOWED     BY   FORTY   COOLIES — 
CYCLISTS   PAID  FOR  BEING    ENTERTAINED   BY   THE   TAI   FOO. 

The  rain  which  Ave  had  looked  for  did  net  disappoint  us.  The 
water  poured  steadily  for  three  days  following  the  Fourth  of 
July,  and  on  the  7th  the  water  rose  twenty  feet  in  eighteen  hours. 
It  continued  rising  to  flood  height,  and  we  were  imprisoned  at  Ping 
Shan  Pa  until  July  2G,  our  boat  tied  to  the  trees  of  an  orange  grove 
which  sheltered  a  coffin  shop  kept  by  an  old  man.  The  Yang-Tse-Kiang 
was  in  its  fiercest  mood,  and  none  better  than  ourselves  were  in  a 
position  to  witness  its  terrors.  Our  boat  was  turned  and  twisteil 
as  if  struggling  to  break  its  bonds.  Great  volumes  of  under-current 
burst  in  swirls  under  our  bow  and  stern,  pounding  as  they  struck  the 
flat  bottom  of  the  boat  as  if  we  had  been  crashed  on  a  submerged 
rock.  The  yellow  waters  seemed  to  leap  in  their  course,  all  semblance 
to  a  stream  being  lost.  Trees,  torn  up  by  their  roots,  leaped  full 
length  from  the  whirlpools  and  were  drawn  down  into  the  vortex  of 
the  next.  A  capsized  junk  shot  past,  and  as  it  was  near  the  shore 
a  half-dozen  boatmen  left  the  bank  to  seize  the  prize.  It  was  an 
exciting  sight.  The  crews  raved,  yelled  and  stamped  on  the  deck 
like  demons,  risking  their  lives  for  the  sake  of  a  few  pieces  of  silver. 
When  they  succeeded  in   beaching  the  junk,   every  plank,   nail,   bit 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS.  63 

of  cargo,  and  even  the  bodies  on  board,  were  theirs  to  possess  or  claim 
reward  for.  The  rampage  of  the  river  gave  the  coffin  shop  proprietor 
several  days  of  grewsome  work.  Within  twenty-four  hours  the  gray- 
queued  old  fellow  rescued  six  bodies  from  the  whirlpools  in  front  of 
his  establishment.  His  son,  stationed  on  a  crag  half  a  mile  upstream, 
kept  a  keen  lookout  for  the  dead  in  the  river,  and  as  soon  as  the  yellow, 
bloated  bodies  appeared  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  he  signaled  his 
father,  who,  with  an  assistant,  put  out  in  a  small  boat  to  tow  th ! 
corpses  ashore.  For  this  service  and  for  the  coffin  he  received  73  gold 
cents  a  body,  and  rich,  in  a  Chinaman's  eyes,  had  the  old  fellow  grown 
with  his  years  of  watching  during  the  spring  and  summer  floods. 

Ascending  the  gorges  of  the  Yang-Tse-Kiang  by  boat  is  a  trip 
which,  under  the  most  propitious  circumstances,  is  fraught  with  danger 
and  inconvenience,  but  especially  so  during  the  months  of  July  and 
August.  But  we  ascended  the  most  dangerous  parts  of  the  famed 
canyons,  passed  through  the  Tan  Hsin,  Sung  Poa  Tso  Tan  and  other 
dreaded  rapids.  Though  the  trip  proved  at  all  times  exciting,  there 
was  no  time  that  danger  was  sufficiently  apparent  to  cause  Mrs. 
Mcllrath  to  change  color  or  to  reach  out  for  her  cork  life-belt.  Never- 
theless, I  would  not  undertake  the  journey  again  were  it  to  lead  through 
scenery  doubly  grand  and  were  the  passage  to  be  paid  handsomely 
in  gold.  The  entire  pleasure  is  lost  in  efforts  to  keep  the  Chinese 
crew  in  marching  order,  and,  as  they  must  be  coerced  into  activity, 
the  journey  may  be  said  to  resemble  an  outing  in  the  Grand  Canyon 
with  a  herd  of  swine  to  drive.  The  expression  is  homely,  but  just  and 
fitting.  We  sighted  the  beautiful  Teng  Hsiang  gorge  on  Aug.  8,  but 
Ion;:  before  we  entered  it  the  country  became  hilly,  often  resembling 
the  beautiful  Palisades  of  the  Hudson.  In  America,  where  all  things 
necessary  to  facilitate  transportation  and  commerce  are  deemed  abso- 
lutely necessary,  such  feats  as  the  Port  Huron  Canal  and  the  removal 
of  Hell  Gate  are  accepted  by  the  public  when  the  feats  are  accom- 
plished as  simply  the  result  of  need,  but  in  China  a  mere  passage 
a  few  miles  long,  blasted  out  of  a  mountain  side,  is  a  rare  spectacle  to 
behold.  As  our  boar  slipped  along  the  rocks  the  beauty  of  the  gorge 
disclosed  itself,  but  to  my  mind  the  scenery  of  the  Teng  Hsiang  gorge 
did  not  compare  in  grandeur  to  that  encountered  upon  the  rapids 
of  Shan-Tou-ring.  The  rapids  are  caused  by  jutting  shells  of  rock 
running  out  into  the  river  several  hundred  feet.  As  the  water  is 
deep,  and  the  current  runs  eight  miles  an  hour,  the  rapids  are  terrific. 
Had  our  boat  broken  loose  and  gone  down  stream  onto  the  boulders, 
which  reared  their  heads  just  above  the  water,  boat,  baggage,  bicycles, 
and  probably  tourists  would  have  b  en  lost. 

The  mast  of  all  boats  ascending  the  Yang-Tse-Kiang  is  situated 


64  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

almost  amidships,  just  a  little  forward,  and  to  the  base  of  this  is 
fastened  the  tracking  line  of  bamboo.  From  the  top  of  the  spar  runs 
another  line  fastened  to  the  towline  about  thirty  feet  out  from  the 
mast,  and  by  pulling  in  or  slacking  this  line  the  tracking  line  may  be 
raised  to  the  top  of  the  spar,  if  desired,  this  to  enable  the  towline 
to  clear  the  rocks  on  the  shore,  which  are  occasionally  as  high  as 
the  mast.  Forty  coolies  composed  our  crew  on  shore  in  charge  of 
the  tracking  line,  and  as  the  "Defender,"  trembling  and  groaning, 
pushed  her  nose  into  the  rushing  water  the  crew  ashore  chanted  and 
groaned,  as,  bent  forward  until  one  hand  almost  touched  the  ground, 
they  moved  us  up  stream.  The  night  of  our  arrival  in  Kwei  Chou 
Foo,  an  old  and  dilapidated,  yet  a  city  of  great  importance,  Mrs. 
Mcllrath  and  I  slept  on  deck,  as  was  our  custom,  awakened  the  next 
morning  at  daybreak.  At  9  o'clock  I  sent  my  letter  of  introduction, 
card  and  passport  to  the  Tai  Foo  by  the  captain  of  the  lifeboat,  and 
an  hour  later  we  received  his  card,  and  word  that  at  noon  an  official 
would  call  for  us.  In  the!  meantime  our  apartments  were  being  pre- 
pared in  the  palace  of  the  Tai  Foo.  He  sent  three  chairs  for  us,  one 
for  myself,  one  for  Mrs.  Mcllrath,  and  one  for  Leo,  our  Chinese  inter- 
preter, a  Shanghai  boy,  who  was  quite  driven  out  of  his  wits  at  the  idea 
that  one  so  high  in  rank  should  condescend  to  provide  a  chair  for  a 
foreigner's  servant.  The  Tai  Foo  was  a  tall,  slender  man,  middle- 
aged,  and  very  intellectual  in  appearance.  Beckoning  us  to  a  sump- 
tuously furnished  reception  room,  he  welcomed  us  in  courtly  manner, 
and  with  Leo  acting  as  interpreter,  he  asked  the  usual  questions  con- 
cerning our  trip,  the  cause  for  undertaking  such  a  journey,  how  much 
I  received  a  month,  if  I  had  seen  indications  of  gold  and  silver  ore  in 
China,  and  endless  queries  that  are  kept  constantly  on  hand  by  ths 
official  clan.  Gradually  the  potentate  thawed  out,  his  questioning 
ceased,  and  he  began  telling  of  his  own  affairs.  He  laid  aside  the 
peacock  plumed  bonnet  and  the  gold  breastplate,  and,  clad  in  his 
blue  silk  robe,  he  became  simply  a  well-educated  Chinese  gentleman. 
He  realized  that  Japan  had  annihilated  and  confiscated  China's  navy, 
defeated  her  troops  and  generally  "played  horse"  with  the  Great 
Dragon.  He  also  knew  that  the  world  was  round,  and  that  America 
and  Great  Britain  were  different  countries. 

We  were  the  guests  of  the  Tai  Foo  for  three  days,  and  when  we 
were  ready  for  departure  he  presented  us  with  a  purse  of  20  taels, 
insisting  that  we  accept  it  to  remunerate  us  for  the  enjoyment  he 
had  derived  from  our  honorable  company.  As  a  farewell  contribution 
to  our  part  of  the  entertainment,  I  rode  the  bicycle  around  the  gardens, 
causing  the  wives,  children  and  attaches  of  the  Tai  Foo  to  scream 
with  delight,  and  then  call  for  our  chairs.     As  we  took  our  places  in 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  OX  WHEELS.  65 

the  gaily  papered  interior  of  the  sedans,  the  Foo's  secretary  banded 
me  three  enormous  envelopes  covered  with  imposing  seals  and  large 
characters.  These  were  letters  of  commendation  to  the  Shen  at  Van 
Tang  TIsien,  where  we  arrived  Monday,  Aug.  17.  There  was  another 
official  reception  for  us,  with  the  same  pageant  of  chairs,  umbrellas 
and  ponies.  We  dined  with  the  Shen,  who  also  stocked  oar  boat  with 
dainty  dishes,  including  hams,  ducks,  chickens,  fish  and  a  young  pig. 
The  quantity  of  food  provided  for  us  as  a  single  meal  would  have 
fed  six  Americans  for  several  days. 

The  contract  I  had  made  with  the  boatmen  called  for  21.000  cash, 
and  stipulated  that  we  were  to  be  landed  in  Wan  Hsien  in  twelve 
days.  The  cash  had  been  paid  the  crew  in  advance,  and  as  the  ship 
had  occupied  twenty-three  days,  I  had  been  liberal  in  granling  the 
crew  extra  money,  until  17,000  extra  cash  had  been  added  to  the  sum. 
But  upon  our  arrival  at  Wan  Hsien  the  boatman  demanded  7,000  cash 
more.  I  had  learned  from  experience  that  argument  with  the  coolie 
class  did  not  pay,  so  when  the  demand  was  made  I  requested  that 
the  boatman  accompany  me  to  the  Shen  and  allow  that  official  to 
decide  the  difficulty.  This  proposition  he  accepted,  and  as  soon  as  we 
had  met  the  official,  presented  our  passports  and  letters  of  introduction, 
and  our  boy  Leo  had  handed  the  Shen  my  receipts,  contract  and  a 
statement  of  the  extras  paid,  we  adjourned  to  the  trial  room.  In 
vain  did  our  boat  captain  explain  his  woes  as  lie  knelt  upon  the  stone 
floor.  Unfortunately  for  himself,  he  attempted  to  explain  some  partic- 
ular point,  and  instantly  the  Shen  shouted  an  order,  four  coolies  seized 
him.  and  stretching  him  upon  the  floor,  administered  400  strokes  with 
a  club.  I  had  not  expected  such  an  outcome,  and  when  the  Shen 
asked  through  the  interpreter  if  I  was  satisfied.  I  could  but  answer, 
"Only  too  well."  The  boatman  staggered  to  his  feet,  and  with  piteous 
moans  was  thrust  into  a  bamboo  cage.  This  seemed  to  be  carrying 
things  a  little  too  far,  and  expostulating  with  the  Shen  I  succeeded 
in  having  him  released.  Paying  him  4.000  cash  as  a  recompense.  I  sent 
him  away,  grateful  that  I  had  not  taken  advantage  of  my  influence 
and  allowed  him  to  remain  in  the  filthy  bamboo  pen. 

The  road  from  Wan  Hsien  to  Chung  King  lies  directly  over  the 
mountains.  Knowing  that  upon  our  journey  we  would  be  unable  to 
ride  our  bicycles,  we  engaged  coolies  to  carry  them,  and  taking  the 
conveyance  called  mountain  chairs  for  the  accommodation  of  ourselves 
and  boy,  we  left  Wan  Hsien  Aug.  20.  The  Shen  furnished  us  as  an 
escort  two  soldiers  and  four  extra  coolies,  and  with  these  ad-led  to 
our  party  of  five  we  made  quite  a  little  procession  as  we  started  on 
our  long  tramp.  At  4:30  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  we  hailed  at  a  large 
village  thirty  miles  up  the  mountain.  The  rain  was  pouring,  and 
5 


GG  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

•while  the  coolies  prepared  a  room  for  us  in  the  inn  I  hastened  to 
provide  dry  clothing  and  medicine  for  Mrs.  Mcllrath.  She  had  fallen 
ill  during  the  morning,  and  had  I  known  what  distress  and  alarm 
her  indisposition  was  to  cause  me  I  hardly  think  I  should  have  ever 
ventured  into  the  interior  of  China.  To  be  ill  in  a  civilized  land,  whera 
one  has  all  the  advantages  of  medicine,  proper  food,  bedding  and 
pure  air,  is  trying  enough  to  one's  nerves  and  peace  of  mind,  but  to 
be  stricken  in  a  land  300  miles  from  a  white  face,  confined  in  a 
dark,  damp  room,  centipedes  crawling  along  the  walls,  rain  dropping 
from  the  roof,  terrible  odors  from  pig  pens  in  the  next  room,  and 
cesspools  of  filth  in  the  rear,  is  calculated  to  affect  any  sufferer  for 
the  worse.  It  was  midnight  before  I  could  quiet  my  wife  by  the  use 
of  drugs.  She  insisted  upon  starting  with  us  the  next  morning,  though 
so  weak  she  had  to  be  carried  to  her  chair.  The  rain  fell  in  torrents, 
and  to  protect  my  patient  I  tied  sheets  of  oil  paper  over  her  chair, 
wrapped  her  in  a  flannel  blanket,  and  hung  curtains  of  burlap  over  the 
doorway.  Her  condition  did  not  improve  for  the  next  three  days. 
The  rain  continued  to  add  to  our  misery  and  discomfort,  but  my  stock 
of  medicine  was  running  low,  and  I  considered  necessary  a  force:! 
march  to  Chung  King.  Several  times  our  coolie  chair  bearers  mutinied, 
and  upon  one  particular  rainy  night  they  gave  us  the  slip,  forcing  me 
to  send  the  Shen's  two  soldiers  after  them.  They  not  only  deserted,  but 
took  with  them  the  chair  used  in  carrying  Mrs.  Mcllrath.  But  the 
soldiers  were  faithful  to  the  friends  of  their  master,  and  captured 
and  brought  back  the  truants.  It  was  only  by  threats  to  do  them  bodily 
harm,  that  I  succeeded  in  making  them  resume  the  march  next  morning. 
I  probably  threatened  more  than  I  would  execute,  but  prompt  action 
was  imperative.  It  was  either  to  move  rapidly  toward  Chung  King, 
or  lose  by  an  agonizing  death  the  little  companion  of  my  travels  and 
of  my  life.  The  path  was  miserable,  the  rain  fell  in  a  drizzle,  and 
the  country  was  half  hidden  in  banks  of  fog,  but  never  did  blue 
skies,  green  grass,  and  the  sweet  air  of  freedom  appear  more  welcome 
to  a  released  convict  than  did  that  dreary  view  as  Ave  set  forward 
for  relief. 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS.  67 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

DESERTED  BY   MUTINOUS   COOLIES — DANGEROUS   JOURNEY   AFOOT   TO   CHUNG 
KING — THE  MOST  MYSTIFYING  CONJURER  OF  THEM  ALL. 

Once  well  under  way,  our  rebellious  gang  traveled  peaceably,  making 
good  time,  possibly  because  we  would  not  permit  them  to  stop  for 
rest  or  a  few  whiffs  of  opium  in  any  of  the  larger  villages,  thus 
frustrating  all  attempts  they  would  be  certain  to  make  in  endeavoring 
to  enlist  the  sympathy  of  their  fellows.  The  miserable  gang,  however, 
went  upon  another  strike  when  at  dusk  we  halted  in  the  village  of 
Iluci  Sung  Chang.  The  village  inn  was  dirty,  as  usual,  and  no  more 
a  fit  place  for  an  invalid  than  any  of  the  other  wretched  quarters  we 
had  previously  occupied.  When  we  awoke  in  the  morning  of  Aug.  31, 
Leo  apprised  us  of  the  fact  that  rebellion  had  once  more  broken  loose. 
The  coolies  refused  emphatically  to  proceed  without  more  cash.  The 
first  excuse  was  that  they  wanted  food,  but  we  had  furnished  that; 
the  second  they  wanted  opium,  but  the  soldiers  supplied  them;  the 
third,  they  wanted  rice  wine,  and  They  had  been  given  that  also;  and 
now  they  demanded  cash.  Nothing  would  satisfy  them  but  good, 
copper  hard  cash.  The  soldiers  threatened  and  argued  in  vain.  The 
coolies  knew  that  I  had  none  of  the  little  copper  coins  with  me,  my 
funds  consisting  only  of  large  silver  pieces.  Their  demand  for  casu 
was  working  both  ways.  If  I  did  not  give  it  them  they  had  an  excuse 
for  leaving.  If  I  did  give  it  them  they  were  just  that  much  more  ahead. 
I  was  about  to  repeat  the  object  lesson  of  the  day  before  when  the 
boy  Leo  offered  a  solution  to  the  difficulty  by  volunteering  to  proceed  to 
the  next  city  on  foot,  a  distance  of  twenty-five  miles,  and  exchange  one 
of  my  silver  pieces  for  the  required  coin.  I  accepted  the  proposition, 
and  at  7  o'clock  the  next  morning  the  faithful  little  fellow  arrived  with 
5,000  cash.  Two  thousand  cash  were  given  the  coolie  gang  and  I 
demanded  a  completion  of  the  journey  and  met  with  refusal.  A 
squabble  ensued  and  then  the  storm  broke.  About  thirty  coolies  as- 
sembled in  the  front  part  of  the  inn  and  more  filled  the  streets.  With 
the  aid  of  the  one  coolie,  upon  whom  I  could  depend,  I  brought  out  our 
bicycles  and  luggage,  lifted  Mrs.  Mcllrath  in  my  arms  and  placed  her 
in  the  vehicle.  This  action  was  the  draught  of  wind  which  fanned  the 
spark  into  a  flame.  My  own  men  took  their  positions  silently  and  the 
little  procession  started  through  the  long  lines  of  humanity.  The 
natives  cursed,  gesticulated  wildly,  some  striking  at  us,  and  others 
threateningly  displaying  clods  and  stones  in  their  hands.  One  villain- 
ous-featured old  man  followed  us,  talking  confidentially  to  our  men 
and  slipping  some  article  into  their  hands.  This  overt  act,  carried  on 
through  the  medium  of  the  long  flowing  sleeves,  aroused  my  suspicion, 


G8  AHOUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

and  at  the  first  village  I  stopped  the  outfit  and  investigated.  Illicit 
opium  selling  was  the  meaning  of  the  old  fellow's  sly  actions,  and  I 
could  but  submit  and  allow  the  gang  to  fill  their  little  tin  boxes  with 
the  low  grade  "dope"  and  push  on. 

I  have  never  seen  outside  of  hospitals  and  museums  such  looking 
creatures  as  my  gang  of  coolies  were,  when  stripped.  They  were 
attenuated  to  such  a  degree  that  they  were  nothing  less  than  breathing 
skeletons.  Opium  was  responsible  for  it  all.  Yet  there  are  men  who 
profess  to  have  traveled  in  China  who  deny  that  opium  is  the  curse 
that  missionaries  claim  it  to  be.  I  am  positive  that  such  men  are  either 
Englishmen  protecting  the  infamy  of  their  own  land,  which  is  largely 
an  exporter  of  the  drug,  or  else  the  remarks  are  made  by  men  who 
frequent  only  the  hotels  and  clubs  at  Shanghai,  Hong  Kong,  Canton 
and  Pekin,  writing  letters  concerniDg  a  people  the  true  character  of 
whom  it  is  as  impossible  to  learn  at  any  open  port  as  it  is  to  learn  of 
Mormons,  Indians  or  Indiana  White  Caps  in  Chicago  or  New  York 
City.  I  have  seen  the  opium  fiend  in  all  stages,  from  the  novice  to  the 
exhausted  hulk,  who,  paralyzed  in  every  nerve,  sits  gaunt  in  a  temple 
doorway,  his  sightless  eyes  staring  with  fixed  glare  from  deep,  dark- 
circled  sockets.  Every  rib,  every  bone,  even  to  those  in  his  feet,  could 
be  seen,  and  were  it  not  for  the  odor  of  the  drug  which  permeates 
every  fibre  of  clothing,  they  might  be  considered  starved  to  death. 
Starvation  really  is  the  cause,  for  the  devotee  has  no  appetite  only  for 
the  poppy  drug.  We  employed  coolies  to  carry  burdens  for  us,  who, 
In  traveling  one  hundred  miles,  consumed  only  two  bowls  of  rice  during 
the  four  days  spent  in  negotiating  the  distance.  The  lice  and  tea 
accompanying  it  cost  48  cash.  The  remainder  of  their  wages,  which 
amounted  to  800  cash,  was  expended  in  opium.  We  have  experienced 
the  annoyance  of  waiting  a  half  hour  for  men  who  had  been  smoking 
for  four.  Boatmen  on  the  river,  and  laborers  in  the  cities  do  not  show 
the  ravages  of  the  drug  as  a  class,  for  as  soon  as  they  become  actual 
fiends  they  disappear  from  the  busy  arteries  of  commerce,  just  as 
drunkards  do  from  active  business  circles  in  other  lands. 

There  is  a  belt  existing  for  a  distance  of  600  miles  along  the  lower 
end  of  the  Yang-Tse-Kiang  where,  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year, 
principally  September,  October  and  November,  the  sun  never  shines, 
and  if  rain  inaugurates  the  initial  month  a  daily  precipitation  may  be 
counted  upon.  We  were  in  the  center  of  this  belt  Sept.  3,  and  our  own  ex- 
periences gave  evidence  to  the  phenomenon.  It  rained  steadily  since 
our  departure  from  Wan  Shen,  Aug.  26,  and  when  we  resumed  our 
journey  on  Sept.  3,  the  roads  and  bridges  rendered  testimony  to  the 
effect  of  constantly  rushing  waters.  Journeying  under  such  conditions 
was  not  alone  dangerous,   but   monotonous.      One   of   the   happiest 


70  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

moments  of  our  tour  was  when  we  ascertained  that  Chung  King  was 
but  little  more  than  a  hundred  miles  away.  Several  days  drearily 
spent  in  climbing  hills,  wading  small  streams  and  skating  through  mud 
ankle  deep,  brought  us  within  about  five  miles  of  Tu  To.  There  we 
were  met  by  a  detachment  of  soldiers  from  Chung  King.  We  learned 
from  them  that  they  had  been  dispatched  by  the  Shen  of  Chung  King 
to  escort  us  to  the  city.  We  had  lost  so  much  time  through  bad  roads 
and  inclement- weather  that  the  officials  of  Chung  King,  who  had  been 
notified  of  our  coming,  had  grown  anxious  and  had  sent  out  troops  to 
guide  us  in  safety.  On  Monday,  Sept.  7,  we  obtained  an  early  start, 
reaching  a  small  village  on  the  Yang-Tse-Kiang  by  noon.  In  small 
boats  we  embarked  for  the  city,  half  a  dozen  miles  above  and  across 
the  river,  arriving  at  3  o'clock  at  the  metropolis  of  Western  China,  a 
city  situated  on  a  point  of  land  formed  by  the  junction  of  the  Yang- 
Tse-Kiang  and  Min  rivers.  Though  Chung  King  has  a  greater  popula- 
tion of  foreigners  than  any  other  city  on  the  river,  excepting  Hankow, 
we  were  astonished,  upon  arrival,  to  pass  through  miles  of  business 
streets  without  a  glimpse  of  settlements  of  foreign  houses. 

It  took  much  diligent  inquiry  for  us  to  find  the  residence  of  Dr. 
J.  H.  McCartney,  surgeon  in  charge  of  the  American  Methodist  Hos- 
pital. We  were  a  dirty,  mud-stained  pair  when  we  at  last  ascended  to 
the  veranda  of  the  doctor's  comfortable  home,  but  the  kindly  surgeon 
had  heard  of  the  Inter  Ocean's  enterprise,  and  he  bade  us  enter  before 
inspecting  our  condition.  It  would  have  made  little  difference  had  we 
been  two-fold  more  dilapidated  in  appearance,  for  I  never  met  a  mis- 
sionary surgeon  in  China  who  did  not  entertain  us  royally,  even  at  the 
sacrifice  of  his  own  comfort.  As  he  sat  over  dessert,  discussing  our  jour- 
ney, tasting  the  first  genuine  American  pie  we  had  eaten  since  leaving 
San  Francisco,  I  learned  with  strangely  mixed  feelings  that  the  dis- 
trict we  had  just  traveled  was  the  most  dangerous  in  China.  Only  a 
few  weeks  prior  to  our  arrival  the  imperial  mail,  carried  overland,  was 
robbed.  I  could  then  understand  the  significance  expressed  in  the 
remark  of  a  certain  Shen  when  he  said,  "You  will  have  plenty  to  cause 
you  fear  before  reaching  Chung  King."  I  had  told  him  that  Mrs. 
Mcllrath  and  I  had  no  misgivings  as  to  the  trip,  but  had  I  known  that 
mail  carriers  were  assassinated  monthly,  and  that  commissioners, 
traveling  under  protection  of  one  cf  the  great  power's  flags,  were 
robbed  and  maltreated,  our  answer  would  have  been  different. 

The  interior  cities  of  the  Chinese  Empire  are  similar  in  every 
respect;  see  one  of  them  and  you  have  seen  them  all.  A  visitor  to 
Ngau-King  need  not  go  to  Shaze,  the  man  who  has  seen  Shaze  need  not 
travel  in  search  of  fresh  sights  to  Chung  King,  and  one  who  has  seen 
the  native  city  of  Shanghai  has  literally  seen  the  great  aggregation. 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS.  71 

Chung  King,  situated  1(30  miles  from  the  sea,  differed  only  from  the 
others  in  that  the  shops  of  the  various  trades  were  grouped,  each  in- 
dustry occupying  a  section  of  the  street.  The  only  absolutely  new  fea- 
tures of  the  town  appeared  to  be  the  climate,  which  is  delightful  for 
duck  and  pneumonia  propagation,  an  old  conjurer,  and  the  industries 
established  by  Mr.  Archibald  Little.  The  climate  is  first  and  most  im- 
portant, since  it  exists  in  humid,  opaque  quantities  upon  all  occasions, 
except  perhaps  when  the  sun  does  not  happen  to  be  busy  elsewhere; 
then  only  does  the  sun  shine  in  Chung  King.  Tig  bristles  are  the  fun- 
dimental  property  of  the  establishment  of  Mr.  Little,  and  Uncle  Sam's 
people  are  the  chief  patrons  of  it.  After  the  porker  has  been  despoiled 
of  his  hirsute  trimmings,  the  bristles,  sorted  into  bunches  of  three, 
four  and  five  inch  lengths,  are  wrapped  and  shipped  to  the  United 
States  for  use  in  brushes.  The  remaining  great  attraction  of  Chung 
King,  namely,  the  conjurer,  we  met  on  one  of  the  quadrangles  of  a 
temple,  and  for  a  performance  conducted  in  the  open  air,  by  a  necro- 
mancer stripped  from  waist  to  crown  of  head,  without  apparatus  or 
appliance,  he  was  marvelous.  In  a  circle  formed  by  the  crowd,  the 
stone  pavement  serving  as  table  and  stage,  the  scrawny,  wrinkled  old 
magician  produced  from  space  a  curved  sword,  iron  rings,  hardwood 
balls,  clam  shells  and  bowls.  The  performance  opened  with  contor- 
tions of  the  legs  and  back,  and  a  dislocation  and  replacement  of  the 
various  joints  of  the  body.  The  wizard  then  swallowed  a  hardwood 
ball  two  inches  in  diameter,  following  this  with  a  few  clam  shells  and 
poking  the  whole  mass  down  his  elastic  gullet  wth  a  curved  sword. 
Famous  sword  swallowers  of  the  vaudeville  stage  of  our  own  country 
may  use  longer  instruments,  and  swallow  equally  large  objects,  hut 
they  always  leave  enough  of  the  swallowed  article  outside  their 
internal  grottos  to  withdraw  the  obstruction.  Our  Chinese  entertainer 
disdained  these  sensible  precautions,  and  after  we  had  felt  through 
the  abdominal  walls  the  point  of  the  curved  sword,  the  ball  and  the 
clam  shells,  he  removed  them  in  a  style  which  was  distinctively  all  his 
own.  To  remove  the  sword,  he  contracted  his  waist  by  pressure  of 
both  hands,  gave  a  convulsive  upheaval  and  the  weapon  glided  up- 
ward until  just  an  inch  or  two  remained  in  the  throat.  Then  one  of  the 
spectators  removed  the  blade  at  the  conjurer's  request.  The  clam 
shells  and  ball  were  brought  to  light  in  a  simple  manner,  the  conjurer 
not  touching  his  hands  to  his  mouth,  but  spitting  them  on  the  ground 
as  soon  as  they  appeared  between  his  teeth. 


73  .  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

CHAPTER    XIV. 

NEARING  THE  BOUNDARY  LINE  OP  CHINA — A  LONG  TRAMP  WITH  THE  WHEELS 
AS   IDLERS — A    WARNING   TO  BANDITS. 

We  remained  under  the  hospitable  roof  of  Dr.  McCartney's  resi- 
dence for  nine  days,  during  which  time  Mrs.  Mcllrath  recovered  from 
the  serious  illness  which  threatened  her  in  the  mountains.  Her 
recovery  dated  from  the  moment  we  became  the  guests  of  the  kind- 
hearted  doctor,  and  was  so  rapid  that  she  was  able  to  attend  dinner 
parties  given  by  Commissioner  Schutt,  the  Misses  Galloway  and  Meyer, 
of  the  Methodist  Deaconess*  Home,  Rev.  Mr.  Peet  and  wife,  Rev.  Mr. 
Mandy  and  wife,  and  to  accept  the  invitation  of  the  latter  to  visit  their 
Industrial  School  two  and  a  half  miles  from  the  city.  As  all  these, 
except  the  commissioner,  were  from  America,  the  time  passed  only  too 
rapidly.  The  evening  before  our  departure,  we  were  very  agreeably 
entertained  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Claxton,  of  the  English  Mission. 
We  left  Chung  King  Sept.  17,  under  Dr.  McCartney's  guidance,  wheel- 
ing out  of  the  west  gate  of  the  city.  The  sun  had  shown  his  presence 
on  but  one  occasion  of  our  nine  days'  -sojourn,  and  our  de- 
parture, like  our  entry,  was  made  in  a  drizzling  rain.  Our  road  lay 
over  hills  and  valleys  through  a  fertile,  but  badly  torn  up  country. 
Bicycling  was  out  of  the  question  and  we  carried  our  wheels  slung  on 
bamboo  poles  in  such  a  manner  that  they  would  be  ready  for  use  in 
less  than  two  minutes.  To  prevent  rusting  we  daubed  the  nickeled 
parts  and  bearings  with  vaseline.  The  saddles  were  kept  dry  by  tying 
oiled  paper  over  the  leather  pads.  Swung  between  the  poles,  which 
were  carried  by  two  coolies,  the  machines  rode  easily,  and  yet  did  not 
hamper  the  progress  of  the  carriers.  The  luggage  cases,  with  fresh 
white  lettering,  informed  passers-by  (or  those  of  them  who  could  read 
English)  that  the  little  procession  of  which  the  wheels  formed  the 
most  interesting  part,  were  on  a  "World's  tour  for  the  Inter  Ocean, 
Chicago,  U.  S.  A."  We  accomplished  on  an  average  forty  miles  a  day 
until  Sept.  20,  when  the  signs  of  the  country  indicated  that  we  were 
then  in  the  last  province  of  China,  Yunnan,  whose  chief  fame  is  in  its 
proximity  to  Burmah.  Great  numbers  of  Mohammedans  offering  for 
sale  beef,  mutton  and  pork,  were  to  be  seen  along  the  road.  They  were 
not  in  such  number,  however,  that  we  felt  encouraged  in  buying  the 
flesh  displayed,  as  the  Buddhists  were  in  great  evidence,  and  being 
vegetarians,  they  never  tasted  meat.  We  therefore  refrained  from 
purchasing,  reasoning  that  the  beef  was  probably  "shop  worn." 

The  rain  continued  to  fall  in  torrents  and  the  last  miles  of  our 
journey  through  China  were  made  in  an  ocean  of  mud.  Every  gar- 
ment we  wore  was  soaked,  our  blankets  wet  through  and  through,  and 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  OX  WHEELS.  73 

our  shoes  were  in  shreds.  We  had  great  difficulty  in  obtaining  coolies 
to  carry  our  burdens,  and  as  I  look  back  upon  it  now.  I  can  scarcely 
blame  them  for  not  wishing  to  push  on  from  early  morn  till  night  with 
a  strong  west  wind  driving  the  sheets  of  water  in  their  faces.  What 
the  brave  Lenz  must  have  endured  with  no  companion.  I  can  well 
imagine  from  the  recollections  of  the  terrible  mental  depression  offered 
by  our  trip.  As  Mrs.  Mcllrath  and  I  trudged  along,  our  very  misery  at 
times  became  so  great  that  we  were  able  to  extract  a  certain  hysterical 
amusement  from  it.  My  attire  was  conglomerate,  .1  bicycle  cap 
adcrned  my  head:  a  Norfolk  jacket  my  body;  a  pair  of  pajamas  my 
legs;  top  boots  over  my  feet,  and  straw  sandals  tied  on  these.  Over 
my  shoulders  was  draped  my  red  blanket;  on  my  back  was  strapped 
a  Chinese  sword;  in  my  hand  was  a  heavy  walking-stick,  and  in  my 
holsters  a  pair  of  rusty  4-Ys.  This  mixture  of  bicycle,  bedroom, 
Navajo  Indian,  cowboy  and  Broadway  costumes  delighted  Mrs.  Mc- 
llrath, who  seemed  to  forget  that  she  wore  a  dilapidated  bloomer  cos- 
tume, patched  half  and  half,  with  a  man's  sun  helmet  upon  her  head. 
Many  of  the  temples,  bridges  and  arches  that  we  passed  in  the  proVinee 
seemed  familiar  owing  to  the  photographs  taken  by  Lenz  and  re- 
produced in  his  articles.  I  was  much  disappointed  that  I  could  not 
duplicate  many  of  them,  but  the  weather  we  encountered  put  an  end 
to  all  thoughts  of  photography.  Still  tramping  onward  in  the  rain,  the 
bicycles  seemed  to  realize  our  misery,  and  occasionally  when  the 
wheels  touched  against  some  object  they  spun  for  minutes  as  if  re- 
monstrating against  being  carried  and  demanding  an  opportunity  to 
"stretch  their  spokes."  Careful  inspection  daily  failed  to  reveal  a  fault 
or  a  flaw  in  the  machines.  Cyclists  will  be  pleased  to  know  that 
wooden  rims  stand  all  manner  of  climates.  Since  leaving  Chicago  in 
April  of  '95  to  the  September  of  '9<j,  we  had  no  occasion  to  alter  or 
adjust  either  our  rims  or  spokes. 

On  Sept.  24  we  once  more  came  upon  the  banks  of  the  Yang- 
Tse-Kinag  crossing  and  re-crossing  it  three  times  before  getting  to 
Sui  Foo.  In  this  part  of  the  country  we  obtained  our  firs!  view  of 
a  typical  Chinese  grove  of  feathery  bamboo.  Many  writers  have 
described  vividly  these  beautiful  pictures,  but  I  fear  many  received 
their  inspiration  from  a  single  tree  scattered  somewhere  along  the 
route  of  their  journey.  At  any  rate.  I  know  that  the  bamboo  nourishes 
in  groves  peculiar  to  this  part  of  the  empire,  and  I  know  further 
that,  beside  ourselves,  Lenz  and  Margary  have  been  the  only  ones 
Avho  ever  crossed  China  overland  from  coast  to  boundary  line.  Gen- 
eral indisposition  of  Mrs.  Mcllrath,  myself,  and  also  of  the  boy  Leo, 
delayed  us  at  Sui  Foo  until  Oct.  25.  We  wanted  for  nothing 
during  our   stop  in  the  city,   Dr.   C.   II.   Finch   and  the   Rev.   Robert 


74  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

Wellwood  of  the  American  Baptist  Mission  being  untiring  in  their 
attentions  and  courtesies  bestowed.  Our  journey  for  the  next  few 
hundred  miles  continued  to  be  one  afoot.  By  the  time  we  arrived 
at  Toa  Tung  we  were  so  road-bruised  that  we  were  compelled  to 
knock  off  our  journey  and  devote  two  entire  days  to  the  applica- 
tion of  poultices  and  hot  water  to  our  swollen  and  blistered  feet. 
On  Sunday,  Oct.  28,  after  a  most  exhausting  tramp,  the  Inter 
Ocean  tourists  reached  Tai  Kwan  Hseen.  The  road  had  been  over 
the  rockiest  of  mountain  paths  and  we  did  not  have  an  opportunity 
of  riding  our  wheels  until  after  we  had  passed  through  the  cities 
of  Chau  Tung.  More  than  one  thousand  miles  of  mud-plastered  hills 
and  half-submerged  valley  had  we  practically  walked  since  entering 
Ichang,  and  more  than  900  miles  of  that  distance  had  been  covered 
during  rainstorms.  Novice  never  was  prouder,  when  discharged  from 
the  padded  walls  of  a  cyclery  as  a  full-fledged  rider,  than  were  we 
as  we  flushed  down  a  boulevard  leading  out  of  Chau  Tung.  We  cov- 
ered as  much  as  fifty  miles  before  a  pause.  In  our  enthusiasm  we 
probably  overlooked  many  defects  in  the  road,  and  corrugations  ar.d 
boulders  were  passed  over  without  any  jar  to  the  perfect  contentment 
which  rendered  our  spirits  oblivious  to  slight  inconveniences.  Our 
stop  at  Chau  Tung  registered  9,000  miles  over  the  worst  roads  in 
America,  the  best  in  Japan,  and  the  miserable  frame-racking  paths 
of  China,  and  our  wheels  still  rode  as  easily  and  were  as  rigid  as  the 
day  we  pedaled  out  Washington  Boulevard  in  Chicago.  The  people 
ran  through  the  fields  to  head  us  off,  here  with  laughter  and  approval 
and  again  with  mumbled  threats  of  resentment  at  the  invasion  of 
their  land  by  "the  foreign  devils  on  iron  horses."  Old  men  joined  in  the 
unique  procession  which  followed  us  at  times  for  more  than  three 
or  four  miles. 

Knowing  that  we  could  wheel  but  a  part  of  the  distance  ahead  of 
us,  we  had  sent  our  bicycle  carriers  to  be  overtaken  on  the  road 
ahead.  We  overtook  and  passed  our  coolies  at  a  point  precisely  suited 
to  our  needs.  Checked  suddenly  by  a  rocky  hill  several  miles  in 
length,  we  were  forced  to  dismount,  deposit  our  bicycles  by  the  road- 
side and  walk  on.  We  might  be  considered  rash  for  leaving  our 
machines  unprotected  in  such  a  barbarous  country,  but  we  knew 
that  no  persons  were  on  the  road  between  ourselves  and  coolies, 
and  travelers  going  in  the  opposite  direction  would  not  be  met  with 
until  after  reaching  the  Half-Way  Station  of  the  day's  journey. 
This  important  place  Mrs.  Mcllrath  and  I  reached  fully  an  hour 
before  our  wheels  arrived,  and  thus  had  plenty  of  time  to  marvel 
why,  in  such  a  miserable  village  of  ten  tea  huts  conducted  by  a  hun- 
dred ragged,  filthy  natives,   a  magnificent  triple  archway  of  granite 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS.  75 

should  be  erected.  Not  one  of  the  natives  whom  we  questioned  was 
able  to  explain  this  problem  of  why  30,000  silver  taels  ot  the  people's 
money  had  been  so  expended. 

The  coolies  overtook  us  with  our  -wheels  and  fairly  level  road-* 
enabled  us  to  ride  the  greater  part  of  the  distance  to  Jeang  Di,  the 
village  selected  as  the  stopping  place  for  the  night.  The  paths  were 
now  trails  worn  deep  into  the  clay  by  pony  caravans,  often  so  narrow 
that  the  pedals  of  the  machines  would  strike  the  sides  alternately, 
and  so  deep  that  our  handbars  skimmed  within  a  few  inches  of  the 
earth's  level.  We  overtook  a  number  of  caravans,  enjoying  many 
comical  antics  by  the  sturdy  animals  who  did  not  appear  to  be  please, 1 
at  their  first  sight  of  the  bicycle.  Pedaling  along  the  crests  of  the 
mountain  ranges  was  delightful.  Strong  breezes  cooled  the  air,  and 
though  the  sun  shone  brightly  we  did  not  suffer  from  the  heat  until 
we  descended  into  Jeang  Di,  dropping  in  five  miles  over  six  thousand 
feet.  In  the  city  the  air  found  no  possibility  of  circulation,  and  over- 
come with  the  intense  heat  and  the  exertion  of  the  day,  Mrs.  Mcllrath 
was  compelled  to  retire,  while  I,  scarcely  able  to  understand  the 
strange  dizziness  and  confused  vision,  staggered  about  as  if  drunk 
until  nausea  informed  me  we  had  narrowly  escaped  sunstroke.  We 
were  told  that  many  native  travelers  suffered  in  the  same  manner. 
and  when  the  descent  is  considered  the  change  is  almost  as  sudden 
as  cold,  rare  air  to  stifling  heat.  Bicycling  was  out  of  the  question 
next  morning  and  we  sent  our  coolies  ahead  while  we  resumed  our 
trip  on  foot.  Far  up  in  the  mountains,  where  the  air  had  again  turned 
cold  and  the  winds  were  biting  and  raw,  we  passed  one  of  the  her- 
mit widows  of  China,  a  peculiar  class  of  fanatics,  who  in  Buddhist 
belief  are  said  to  receive  great  merit  in  the  veiled  world.  Her  hus- 
band dying  while  the  marriage  festivities  were  being  celebrated,  the 
widow  vowed  never  again  to  marry  or  participate  in  earthly  pleasures. 
So  high  in  the  mountains  she  made  her  home  and  upon  a  pallet  of 
filthy  straw  she  slept  by  night  and  sat  by  day. 

In  collecting  curios  we  endeavor  to  select  such  of  interest  as 
we  could  conveniently  carry  without  additional  cost,  but  in  Yunnan 
Foo  we  inspected  a  natural  curio  that  I  would  pay  any  sum  could  I 
have  transported  it  to  America.  The  coveted  marvel  was  Chang,  the 
Yunnan  giant.  He  was  a  better  specimen  of  giant  than  his  illus- 
trious namesake  who  once  toured  the  United  States  to  his  great 
profit.  When  only  fifteen  years  old  this  junior  Chang  carried  on 
Ins  enormous  feet  six  feet  of  manhood,  and  later  increased  Ins  height 
to  seven  feet  nine  inches  and  his  weight  to  340  pounds.  He  wears 
a  No.  13  glove  and  requires  No.  14  shoes.  When  the  missionaries 
ushered  into  our  presence  this   massive  form   1   was  too  stunned  to 


76  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

speak.  Clad  in  the  red  uniform  of  the  Chinese  army,  his  head 
wrapped  in  a  hlaek  turban,  he  towered  above  me  until  I  felt  that 
he  could  not  possibly  be  human.  Being  six  feet  and  a  fraction  in 
height  myself,  I  am  accustomed  to  look  down,  or  at  best  on  a  ravel, 
into  the  faces  of  other  people,  but  to  be  compelled  to  bend  my  head 
sharply  back  to  look  at  this  huge  fellow's  shoulders  was  a  decide.lly 
new  experience.  As  we  were  riding  the  "Great  Stone  Road"  from 
Yunnan  Foo  we  passed  eleven  small  cages  hung  on  eleven  dead  trees. 
In  each  cage  rested  the  head  of  a  human  being.  The  sight 
was  not  one  to  be  described.  On  the  ground  about  the  trees 
were  baskets,  ropes  and  yokes  which  had  been  used  in  conveying  the 
heads  from  the  execution  grounds.  Not  one  of  the  natives  who  hast- 
ened past  with  bowed  heads  dared  to  touch  with  foot  or  hand  these 
abandoned  trophies.  At  the  next  village  we  were  told  that  the  heads 
were  those  of  eleven  bandits  who  robbed  a  silk  shop  in  the  village, 
murdering  two  men  and  one  woman,  and  almost  causing  the  death 
of  the  aged  mother  of  their  victims.  Decapitation  was  the  punishment 
awarded,  and  that  passing  thieves  might  be  warned  against  sim'lar 
fates,  the  bodies  were  buried  and  the  heads  hung  up  as  object  lessons. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


THROUGH   CHINA  INTO  BURMAH — ENTERTAINED    LAVISHLY    BY    BRITISH  OPPI 
CERS  IN  MANDALAY  AND  MADE  TO  BLUSH  AT   A  "ZAT  FWEI. " 

Days  of  intense  heat  reigned,  and  snow  marked  our  progress 
through  the  Yunnan  and  Kwei  Chan  provinces.  The  snowstorm  rivaled 
in  force  a  Texas  blizzard,  so  exhausting  our  coolies  that  they  refused 
to  go  further.  We  gave  them  from  our  surplus  store  of  clothing,  and 
put  upon  their  feet  extra  pairs  of  our  thick  woolen  socks,  so  earning 
their  gratitude  that  they  consented  to  proceed  a  few  miles  further, 
where  we  came  upon  a  large  hut,  which  sometimes  did  service  as  a 
tavern.  We  were  snow-bound  here  for  three  days  before  we  could 
push  our  way  to  the  British  line. 

Wednesday,  Dec.  23,  our  last  day  in  China,  found  us  up  bright 
and  early,  and  so  impatient  that  we  set  out  afoot  in  advance  of  our 
carriers.  Up  and  down  over  the  sttfne-heaped  path,  passing  numerous 
Chinese  forts,  and  over  three  ranges  of  mountains,  we  walked,  climbed 
and  stumbled  until  we  sighted  a  more  civilized  land— Burmah.  Pausing 
only  to  assure  our  gladdened  hearts  that  our  eyes  did  not  deceive  us, 
we  plunged  down  a  precipitious  path,  crossed  a  swayiug  suspension 
bridge  of  bamboo,  and,  with  a  loud  hurrah,  landed  on  Burmese  soil. 
Mrs.  Mcllrath's  first  action  on  the  new  territory  was  to  flop  down 


THE  MdLBATHS  AT  BHAMO,  BURMAH.-(SeePage79). 


78  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

m  the  sand  and  cry;  mine  to  crack  the  neck  from  a  small  bottle, 
and,  with  a  prayer  of  thanksgiving,  a  toast  to  the  United  States,  Queen 
Victoria,  the  Inter  Ocean,  and  the  good  wheels  we  rode,  we  drank 
the  bottle's  fizzing  contents,  and  yelled  like  a  pair  of  cowboys. 

At  the  water's  edge  were  squatted  a  few  of  Great  Britain's 
defenders— the  black  Sepoys  of  India.  We  toiled  up  the  hill  to  the 
stockade  above,  and  as  we  approached,  an  individual,  who  introduced 
himself  as  Gordon,  opened  the  barrier  gates  and  invited  us  to  come 
inside.  Our  advent  was  expected,  and  other  formalities  of  introduction 
were  unnecessary.  We  remained  the  guests  of  Gordon  over  night,  as. 
our  coolies,  with  the  bicycles,  did  not  arrive  until  after  sundown. 

As  I  looked  back  over  the  last  eleven  months,  my  recollections 
become  almost  kaleidoscopic  in  their  variations.  For  eleven  months  we 
were  the  guests  of  the  Mongolians,  having  them  for  companions  both 
day  and  night;  we  had  adopted  their  customs,  ate,  slept  and  journeyed 
with  them  for  weeks  isolated  from  a  white  face,  and  we  felt  on  our 
arrival  in  Nampong  that  we  were  competent  to  judge  as  very  few 
others  the  true  character  of  the  long  queued  Orientals.  Our  trip  from 
Shanghai  had  involved  4,200  miles  of  walking,  riding  and  climbing. 
We  had  been  pursued  by  howling  mobs;  we  had  slept  in  swamps 
and  rice  fields;  we  had  been  fired  upon,  cut  at  with  knives,  lunged 
at  by  spears,  and  stoned  innumerable  times;  often  running  a  gauntlet 
of  maddened  natives,  with  clods  and  stones  falling  about  us  like  hail. 
Coolies  of  the  lowest  and  officials  of  the  highest  type  had  sheltered 
and  entertained  us;  pleasures  and  pain  had  been  our  lot;  from  a  palace 
as  honored  guests  we  had  been  altered  in  forty-eight  hours  to  besieged 
beings,  expecting  to  fight  for  our  lives;  lost  in  snowstorms,  wading 
in  streams,  creeping  around  landslides,  our  journey  has  been  fraught 
with  many  dangers;  death  in  the  garb  of  pestilent  disease  had  brushed 
shoulders,  feasted  at  the  same  table  and  slept  in  the  same  apartment 
with  us;  we  had  been  ragged  and  hungry,  yet  now,  on  Burmese  soil,  not 
a  word  of  regret  could  be  expressed  for  all  the  hardships  we  had 
suffered.  For  myself,  there  is  due  little  credit.  I  simply  accomplished 
that  which  I  understood  must  be  done  when  we  entered  China,  but 
to  the  heroic  little  woman  who  pleaded  to  be  allowed  to  share  my 
hardships,  is  all  credit  due.  Never  did  she  falter  when  the  mobs 
gathered  around  us,  and  when  the  last  possible  recourse  permitting 
escape  from  death  and  torture  seemed  exhausted,  she  was  firm  and 
quiet. 

Of  the  Chinese  as  a  people,  individually  and  collectively,  we  learned 
them  to  be  a  weak  race,  morally  and  mentally.  Opium,  liquor  and 
disease  have  set  their  marks  upon  millions.  In  trade  the  natives  are 
unscrupulous,  and  chivalry  or  respect  toward  women  does  not  exist. 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  OX  WHEELS.  79 

Cruel  to  the  extreme,  with  a  cultivated  ferocity  they  are  most  arrant 
cowards,  and  yet,  most  overbearing  when  in  numbers.  The  country 
itself  is  rich  with  precious  metals,  commercial  minerals,  oil  and  fibrous 
grasses,  as  yet  either  unknown  to  the  natives,  or  else  requiring  too 
much  labor  to  extract.  Improvement  or  advancement  in  civilization 
or  mercantile  industries  will  never  take  place  in  China  while  governed 
by  China.  The  supreme  egotism  of  the  natives  prevents  the  adoption 
of  anything  modern  or  anything  foreign.  The  official  classes  are 
do  less  corrupt.  Banded  together,  as  if  a  society  for  pillage,  they 
prey  upon  the  people,  aided  by  the  more  unprincipled  priests,  and 
woe  to  the  merchants  and  peasants  who  enter  court  to  obtain  justice. 
Such,  briefly,  is  China  as  the  Inter  Ocean  cyclists  found  it  to  be. 

The  first  Burmese  village  into  which  we  wheeled  was  Myathit, 
situated  in  one  of  the  dustiest,  hottest,  driest  portions  of  all  India. 
There  were  fine  shade  trees  dotting  the  white,  dusty  road,  and  every- 
where were  to  be  seen  the  curiously  attired  people  from  all  parts  of 
India  and  Burmah.  I  could  distinguish  the  Indians  by  their  garbs 
of  white,  some  exit  into  long  frock  coats  and  tight  trousers,  others 
Into  jackets,  with  long,  flowing  trousers  gathered  at  the  ankles.  Huge 
White  turbans  were  knotted  about  the  heads  of  the  Indians,  a  bit 
of  liright  color  in  the  center  being  the  only  relief  in  the  entire  study 
of  black  hands  and  faces  framed  in  a  setting  of  immaculate  white. 
The  Burmese  women,  as  a  rule,  are  handsome.  I  was  aided  in  this 
discovery  by  Mrs.  Mcllrath.  who  pointed  out  to  me,  as  a  type,  a  beauty 
possessing  a  complexion  like  cream,  with  the  pink  tint  of  peach  blos- 
soms. When  Mrs.  Mcllrath  announces  that  a  woman  is  beautiful  I 
accepl  it  without  argument.  She,  and  not  I,  is  the  censor  in  such 
matters. 

One  could  not.  imagine  a  more  insipid  place  to  live  in  than  Bahmo, 
the  military  and  trading  coast  where  we  were  quartered.  The  hours 
of  life  are  routine  and  monotonous,  excepting  when  one  is  fortunate 
enough  to  own  a  membership  or  to  have  a  card  to  the  Bahmo  Club. 
For  thirty  days  in  luxuriant  idleness  (of  course  not  counting  the 
many  short  trips  awheel  in  and  about  the  city),  we  lingered  in  Bahmo, 
living  in  the  bungalow  of  the  China  inland  missionary.  Bicycling  in 
the  district  of  Bahmo  affords  limited  journeys,  but  we  managed  to 
travel  twenty  miles  away,  and  visit  the  government  hospital,  the 
provincial  jail  and  a  number  of  coffee  plantations. 

We  sailed  from  tins  large,  but  rather  uninteresting,  city  on  Jan.  25, 
1897,  taking  passage  on  one  of  the  Irrawaddy  Flotilla  Company's  mail 
steamers,  the  Monein.  After  three  days'  steaming  the  Momein  tied 
up  at  the  dock  in  Mandalay,  the  capital  city  of  Burmah,  and  sung  of  by 
Mr.  Kipling  in  his  clever  verses,  "On  the  Road  to  Mandalay."     During 


80  AROUND  THE  WORLD  OX  WHEELS. 

the  reign  of  Kings  Mindoon  and  Theebaw,  in  order  that  the  palaces 
might  be  protected  from  invaders,  the  buildings  were  erected  far  to 
the  inland,  under  the  shadow  of  Mandalay  hill.  Wheeling  over  the 
hard  macadam  was  a  delight,  and  merrily  we  whirled  off  me  miles 
intervening,  until  we  alighted,  at  last,  at  the  European  hotel,  the  first 
that  had  welcomed  lis  since  leaving  Hankow,  China.  In  our  journey 
of  the  globe,  having  been  the  guests  of  thousands  of  people,  we  must 
credit  the  members  of  the  Burmah  Club,  fifty  per  cent  of  whom  are 
British  officers,  with  being  the  most  attentive  and  kindly  organization 
at  whose  hands  we  received  courtesies.  As  a  body  they  wined  us, 
dined  us,  gave  picnic  excursions  on  the  river,  drives,  bicycle  rides, 
obtained  invitations  to  various  native  celebrations,  and  put  forth 
every  effort  to  render  our  sojourn  instructive  and  pleasant.  Bicycling 
with  several  Europeans  who  were  fortunate  enough  to  own  cycles 
was  one  of  the  most  delightful  features  of  our  entertainment.  The 
roads  were  excellent,  and  wheeling  in  the  cool  air  of  early  morning, 
one  of  the  many  delightful  temples  or  majestic  pagodas  the  objective 
point  of  our  excursion,  is  a  pleasure  to  be  enjoyed  only  on  British 
roads  in  an  Oriental  country.  It  was  our  privilege,  on  Feb.  12  to 
witness  a  wedding  of  royal  blood.  The  ex-Xyanugwe  Saw  Bwa 
"requested  the  pleasure  of  the  company  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mcllrath  at 
his  home,  in  South  Moat  Road,  on  the  occasion  of  the  marriage  of  his 
daughter  Saw  Kin  Gwi  with  the  Sawbued  of  South  Theinni,  and  also 
on  the  same  night,  to  witness  a  Zat  Pwei."  The  ceremonies  were  per- 
formed by  the  highest  class  native  officials  and  Sir  Frederick  Fryer, 
first  lieutenant  governor  of  Burmah.  To  appear  successfully  at  such  a 
state  function  one  is  supposed  to  dress  appropriately,  and  I  felt  greatly 
embarrassed  in  my  knickerbockers  as  I  mingled  in  the  blaze  of  red 
uniforms,  royal  Scotch  plaids,  gold  lace,  decorations,  and  the  jewels 
and  dainty  gowns  of  the  ladies.  Extravagant  as  are  the  English  in 
costuming  for  each  event  and  occasion  of  the  day,  the  guests  did  not 
appear  to  notice  the  greasy,  dusty  and  patched  raiment  which  com- 
prised my  only  wardrobe,  and  did  all  they  could  to  make  me  feel 
at  home.  The  verbal  portion  of  the  marriage  ceremony  was  unin- 
telligible to  me,  but  the  "business,"  as  an  actor  would  describe  it, 
made  It  quite  plain  to  the  most  casual  observer  that  the  dusky  pair 
who  formed  the  center  piece  of  a  most  interesting  group  were  being 
united  in  the  holy  bonds  of  wedlock. 

The  usual  check  from  "papa"  was  not  seen  as  we  inspected  the 
wedding  gifts,  but  there  was  a  profusion  of  diamonds  and  siiver  plate. 
The  diamonds  were  just  such  as  are  admired  by  Burmans,  huge  yellow 
beauties,  set  in  dull  gold  rings,  the  base  uppermost  and  the  radiating 
surface  concealed.    Just  why  the  Burmans  reverse  the  European  idea 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS.  81 

of  setting  gems  is  difficult  to  explain,  but  the  prevailing  idea  is  that 
the  gem  is  so  set  to  resemble  the  pagodas  and  pyramids  so  omnipresent 
and  revered  in  Burmah.  Diamonds  valued  as  high  as  30,000  rupees, 
or  about  $10,000  in  our  money,  are  set  in  this  manner,  and  the  color 
is  invariably  yellow.  The  Zat  Pwei,  which  was  next  on  the  program, 
proved  to  be  a  theatrical  performance.  It  began  with  an  overture 
by  the  orchestra,  the  music  typically  Oriental;  then  came  the  dancers 
of  the  company,  followed  by  the  event  of  the  evening,  the  drama. 
Just  what  the  play  was  called,  or  what  the  plot  was  about,  was  vague 
to  all  the  Europeans  present,  but  as  the  dialogue  progressed  the 
audience  warmed  up  and  the  actors  became  enlivened.  Dropping  their 
theatrical  drawl  and  stagy  manner  which  had  characterized  the  first 
hnlf  hour,  the  performance  developed  into  repartee  of  suggestive  tone. 
In  fact,  the  most  unblushing  French  jokes  would  look  well  upon 
Sunday-school  cards  after  listening  to  a  series  of  Zat  Pweis.  As  our 
party  was  entirely  dependent  upon  a  native  interpreter  for  translation, 
and  as  this  gentleman  did  not  regard  the  performance  from  a  European 
standpoint,  the  entertainment  soon  reached  a  stage  which  required  the 
withdrawal  of  the  ladies,  and  at  midnight,  with  a  farewell  congratula- 
tion to  our  host,  we  returned  to  the  hotel,  satisfied  that  Zat  Pweis 
were  most  interesting— to  bachelors  and  a  few  other  gentlemen. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


THE   CYCLING  FEVER  BREAKS     OUT    IN    RANGOON — PRIZE    FIGHTING  UNDER 
REMARKABLE   RULES — ACROSS   THE   BAY   OF   BENGAL   TO   CALCUTTA. 

Cycling  in  Burmah  proved  extremely  monotonous,  and  the  dullest 
of  all  the  dreary  rides  we  experienced  were  here.  Nowhere  was  there 
a  variety  of  scene  or  change  from  the  level  valley,  with  its  dusty, 
winding  roads  stretching  out  under  the  blistering  tropical  sun.  The 
air  was  ever  stifling  hot;  it  smarted  our  dilated  nostrils;  seemed  to 
stuff  our  gasping  lungs  and  blister  the  backs  of  our  hands  and  necks, 
and  a  ride  of  three  hours  at  a  stretch  caused  us  to  relax  ibto  a  sort 
of  stupor,  from  which  we  could  only  arouse  ourselves  by  repeated 
efforts.  Had  we  reached  Burmah  during  the  fall  of  the  year,  we 
could  have  made  good  progress,  but  now  tedious  delays,  entirely  beyond 
our  control,  hampered  us,  and  we  had  to  face  not  only  the  famine 
and  plague-infested  land,  but  the  white  man's  greatest  enemy,  the 
summer  sun,  which,  in  its  molten  glare,  kept  the  temperature  above 
100,  night  and  day,  making  death  and  heat  apoplexy  quite  as  possible 
as  from  the  epidemic  of  cholera  and  bubonic  fever.  We  left  Mandalay 
at  daybreak  on  March  1,  and  started  over  the  dusty  roads  to  Ran- 
6 


82  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

goon,  400  miles  south.  Mandalay  had  been  the  point  which  we  had 
selected  to  observe  the  characteristics  and  customs  of  the  natives, 
and,  unlike  the  efforts  put  forth  in  the  same  channel  in  China,  we 
found  the  duties  pleasant  and  fraught  with  happy  little  incidents. 
Burmans  resemble  the  Japanese  to  a  certain  extent;  not  so  cleanly, 
energetic,  intelligent  or  independent,  but  possessing  the  same  admirable 
faculty  of  being  happy,  smiling  and  self-complacent  undei  circum- 
stances which  would  fill  any  other  being's  soul  with  pessimistic  vaga- 
ries. Farming,  carpentry  and  carving  appear  to  be  the  only  occupa- 
tions left  them,  for  everywhere  was  seen  the  submissive  black  who 
followed  the  rush  of  England  into  the  land  of  milk  and  honey  and  rice 
and  rubies. 

"Othello's  occupation  gone"  is  true  of  the  Burman.  Blacks  are  the 
scavengers,  sweepers,  table  servants,  cooks,  butlers,  porters,  coachmen, 
tailors  and  merchants.  Eurasians,  the  half-castes,  whose  yellow  skin 
and  coarse  black  hair  betray  their  early  English  ancestors,  and  the 
blacks  are  selected  to  act  as  clerks,  hospital  attendants,  telegraph 
operators  and  railroad  clerks.  "Baboo,"  the  English  and  natives  call 
them,  and,  if  another  letter  had  only  been  added  to  the  name,  the 
term  would  have  been  quite  appropriate.  With  all  these  occupations 
lost  to  him,  the  native  still  appears  to  do  well,  always  in  silk  and 
spotless  muslin,  smoking  incessantly  cigarettes  or  huge  cheroots,  which 
scatter  sparks  like  a  working  fire  engine.  The  women  of  the  Indian 
races  act  as  laundresses,  nurses  and  maids.  Thus,  with  aimost  all 
the  natural  trades  and  occupations  taken  by  invaders,  little  is  left 
for  the  Burman  but  the  profession  of  thief  and  thief-catcher,  both 
synonymous  in  Burman,  where  a  policeman  is  feared  not  for  his 
authority,  but  for  the  blackmailing  such  office  permits  him  to  levy  upon 
wrong-doers  and  innocent  upon  whom  suspicion  rests. 

We  had  many  companions  on  the  road  to  Rangoon.  On  every  side 
were  Burmans  on  foot,  on  horse,  and  in  the  low-roofed  box-like  carts, 
which  creaked  and  groaned  as  the  gentle,  curved-horned  beasts  drew 
them  along.  We  passed  Indians  wbo  walked  hand-in-hand,  and  Chi- 
nese gardeners  who  swung  along  at  a  rapid  pace,  though  their  backs 
were  bowed  with  the  weight  of  fresh  vegetables.  Bicycles  did  not  seem 
to  attract  much  attention  in  the  motley  throng,  the  only  persons 
acting  as  though  our  presence  was  unusual  being  the  women  bathing 
around  the  stone-topped  wells,  and  they  only  because  the  icy  waters 
that  dashed  and  poured  over  their  bodies  had  caused  the  only  gar- 
ment they  wore,  a  short,  scant  skirt,  to  cling  closely  to  their  limbs, 
revealing  every  outline  of  symmetrical  figures. 

The  craze  for  wheeling  had  just  reached  an  interesting  stage  in 
Rangoon  at  the  time  of  our  visit.    The  demand  for  machines  exceeded 


84  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

the  supply,  and  as  a  result  there  was  to  be  seen  every  morning  and 
evening  the  most  interesting  parade  of  antiquities  ever  witnessed 
outside  of  a  bicycle  show.  American  machines  of  modern  make  were 
a  close  second  to  the  new  English  product,  but  wheels  entitled  to 
the  utmost  respect  due  to  old  age  formed  the  creaking,  groaning 
majority.  The  riders,  too,  were  curious,  the  Europeans  first  in  num- 
bers, Eurasians  second,  and  the  Indian-Chinese-Burman,  the  mongrel 
of  all  Asia,  making  up  the  balance.  The  positions,  too,  some  of  the 
riders  assumed  were  remarkable.  The  "hump"  had  not  reached  the 
far  East,  the  rat-trap  pedal  and  toe-clip  were  unknown,  and  with 
handle-bars  wide  as  the  horns  of  a  Texas  steer,  seats  suspended  on 
coil  after  coil  of  spring,  low  and  set  far  back  over  the  rear  wheel, 
the  tread  eight  and  ten  inches  wide,  the  riders  reversed  the  "hump" 
and  appeared  to  be  sitting  on  the  dorsal  vertebra,  pumping  much  as 
a  bather  swimming  on  his  back.  There  were  many  places  of  historical 
interest  in  and  around  Rangoon,  and  as  all  points  were  available  by 
cycle,  our  good  old  wheels  were  kept  busy.  The  turning  point  of 
our  morning  spins,  the  teak  lumber  yards,  permitted  sights  which 
would  delight  the  little  folks  at  home  as  much  as  they  secured  the 
attention  of  tourists  here.  Elephants,  great,  huge,  dirty  fellows,  void 
of  all  the  tinsel  trappings  of  the  circus,  were  the  attraction,  as  daily 
they  performed  the  most  arduous  labor  which  in  America  is  done 
by  cranes  and  derricks.  In  harness  of  chains,  the  beasts  drew  enor- 
mous logs  from  the  river  to  the  carriage  at  the  saws,  and  with 
ropes  wound  around  their  trunks  they  dragged  the  rough  slabs  into 
a  yard  and  piled  them  in  precise  heaps.  With  trunk  coiled  as  a 
cushion  against  their  tusks,  they  pushed  enormous  pieces  of  timber 
into  the  proper  places,  each  piece  being  placed  in  exact  position,  with 
the  ends  carefully  "trimmed."  Gentle  and  meek  as  the  laborers  are 
in  appearance,  as,  with  flapping  ears  and  timid  little  eyes,  they  obey 
their  commands,  they  sometimes  become  mutinous.  In  the  McGregor 
yard,  which  we  visited  one  morning,  we  were  shown  one  of  the  largest 
and  best  workers  of  the  herd,  who  had  just  been  released  from  "jail." 
He  had  been  in  confinement  four  months,  laden  with  chains,  deprived 
of  delicacies,  and  treated  as  a  criminal,  simply  because  he  had  wan- 
tonly walked  upon  and  then  tossed  his  keeper  into  the  air.  The 
beast  apparently  realized  the  disgrace  which  had  been  heaped  upon 
him,  for  he  obeyed  his  new  master  without  even  pausing  to  blow 
dust  on  his  back  or  plaster  his  huge  sides  with  cooling,  fly-proof  mud. 

With  the  advent  of  English  rule  in  Burmah,  native  athletic  sport 
degenerated,  and  became  supplanted  in  time  by  horse  race.i  of  most 
corrupt  nature.  When  I  state  that  ibe  racing  is  corrupt  I  have  but 
to  cite  two  instances  which  occurred  at  the  meeting  of  the  Mandalay 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  OX  WHEELS.  85 

Club  during  our  visit  to  that  city.  A  captain  in  Her  Majesty's  army 
placed  3,000  against  1,000  rupees  that  a  certain  horse,  which  we  will 
designate  as  A,  would  win  over  the  Held  presenting  two  horses,  B  and 
C.  Of  the  latter.  C  was  clearly  outclassed,  consequently  the  race  was 
between  A  and  B.  You  may  judge  of  the  bookmakers'  surprise 
when  they  learned  in  the  afternoon  that  the  gallant  captain  was  to 
ride  B,  the  horse  he  had  bet  against.  The  race  had  but  one  possible 
outcome,  A  won.  Another  race  was  started  and  finished  in  absolute 
darkness.  Xo  lights  were  used  on  the  tracks,  the  horses  were  dark 
in  color,  and  the  jockeys  the  same,  but  the  judge  readily  named  the 
winner,  and  the  bookmakers  lost  again. 

A  native  prize  fight  is  even  more  remarkable,  though  always  con- 
ducted "on  the  square."  I  do  not  know  the  rules  governing  the  ring 
in  Burmah.  but  so  few  methods  of  attack  are  barred  that  one  need 
not  bother  himself  on  that  point.  Biting,  hair-pulling  and  kicking  a 
fallen  opponent  are  the  only  prohibited  acts.  I  was  invited  to  be 
present  at  a  series  of  combats  which  took  place  in  the  arena  near 
the  Shway  Dagon  pagoda  in  Rangoon.  Facing  each  other,  the  fighters 
stood  a  pace  apart,  the  referees  opposite  each  other,  also,  forming 
a  square.  The  referees  clapped  their  chests,  the  combatants  smote 
themselves  likewise,  there  was  a  great  roar  of  voices,  and  before  I 
could  really  notice  how  it  happened,  the  fighters  were  wriggling  on 
the  tanbark.  A  flash  of  dark  skins  through  the  sun's  rays,  the 
clapping  sounds  of  palms  on  necks,  backs  and  thighs,  a  Catherine  wheel 
of  legs,  arms,  heads  and  tanbark,  and  the  round  was  over.  Separated 
by  the  referees,  the  men  retired  to  their  corners,  drank  bottles  of 
soda  water,  took  fresh  chews  of  betel  nut,  and  good-naturedly  listened 
to  the  gratuitous  advice  from  their  friends  in  the  audience.  The 
referees  called  round  two  by  slapping  their  chests.  The  fighters  were 
more  cautious  as  they  went  at  each  other,  the  up-country  man  opening 
the  round  by  kicking  his  antagonist  in  the  chest.  A  vicious  uppercut 
with  a  swinging  knee  was  next  landed  by  the  local  man,  and  as  it 
reached  the  curry  and  rice  department  of  the  up-country  man,  events 
looked  bright  for  Rangoon.  Blows,  swung  right  and  left,  up  and  down, 
were  delivered  like  a  man  chopping  wood.  The  Rangoon  man  made  a 
supreme  effort  to  feint,  and  in  doing  so  he  actually  struck  something, 
and  unexpectedly  ended  the  bout.  Leaping  high  in  the  air,  be  kicked 
the  up-country  man  square  on  the  nose.  The  blood  flew,  and  the  fight 
was  over.  Blood  drawn,  if  only  from  a  scratch,  constitutes  a  victory 
for  the  unbled  one,  and  two  minutes  later  the  fighters  had  received 
their  reward,  coins  tossed  into  the  ring  by  spectators. 

Two  years  to  a  day  after  leaving  Chicago  we  walked  up  the  gang- 
plank of  the  steamship  "Africa,"  booked  for  Calcutta,  only  three  days 


ABOUND  Tin;  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

across  tbe  formidable  Bay  of  Bengal  Mrs.  Mcllrath  developed  her 
usual  attack  of  sea  sickness,  though  the  water  was  unruffled,  and 
was  kept  in  her  cabin  for  the  enure  voyage,  leaving  me  to  occupy 
tbe  daylight  hours  wandering  among  the  deck  pasi     g  The  first. 

Impression  one  receives  on  tending  at  the  port  of  Calcutta  is  that  the 
city  in  one  vast  cab  stand.    "Ghan  the  natives'  hacks  are  called, 

line  the  walks,  crowd  the  streets,  rest  under  the  shades  of  treed  in 
parks. and  stand  at  the  curb  in  front  of  hotels  and  shops.    The  dust,  rat- 
tle and  ban;.'  caused  by  these  shaky,  dirty  vehicles,  which  are  dr  s 
about  by  horses  at  snail's  pace,  i-  a  nuisance  second  only  to  the  tram 

and  one  which  would  Ik-  tolerated  only  by  custom-bound,  "strictly- 
in-form"  Englishmen.  Streets  in  Calcutta  wander  aimlessly  along,  sim- 
ilar to  the  rail  fences  in  Indiana,  and  the  buildings,  uniformly  of 
staff-covered  briek,  are  of  every  imaginable  size  and  shape,  as  if 
architects  were  of  one  mind  in  determining  to  try  all  kinds  in  an 
effort  to  obtain  one  adapted  to  the  climate.  Sidewalks,  roads  and  paths 
are  packed  with  white-dad  natives,  barefooted  and  bareheaded,  in  the 

:  glare  of  heat,  which  -'  dead,  unless  their  heads  are 

yet.  i,o;,<.  of  the  Macks  appear  to  suffer.  l>oors  of  hotels 
and  shops  are  kept  open,  but  hanging  in  the  appertures  are  heavy 
mats  of  a  peculiar  grass,  which  coolies  wet  with  pails  of  water,  and  by 
which  means  the  air  is  cooled.  Everywhere  the  heat  is  talked  about 
and  jruarded  against,  and  yet.   with   huge   fan-   SWUUg  constantly  over 

bead,  with  coding  draughts  on  a  table  by  your  side,  the  perspira- 
tion pours,  from  every  part  of  the  body.  On"  hundred  and  ten  degrees 
in  the  shady  corridors  of  the  Continental  hotel,  the  coolest  in  all  India. 
'.>*  degrees  at.  night,  and  this  was.  the  country  -d  on  bkq 

jnvoi  l    2,000    mil'.-"    travel,    and    beyond    the    pale    of    U 

daily  dean  clothes!  Bicycles  are  ridden  extensively  in  Calcutta,  com- 
naratit  -       ore    than  3,000    wheels  being    enumerated   in 

the  tax  list  at  the  time  I  was  in   the  'jty.     There  are,  however,   only 
about  three  months  in  the  year  favorable  to  ridings-December,  Janu- 
ary and  February.    In  other  months  cycling  i-  tolerable  onlj 
the  hours  of  5  and  8  in  the  morning  and  evening.     This,  of  eo 
applies   only   to  the   Europeans,   and    not   to   the   natives,    who   ride   in 
the  intcj,  '   midday  without  the  slightest  difficulty.     A 

calculated  to  arouse  laughter  in  a  wooden  cigar     .  one  of  the 

proud  4   an  old   solid-tire,  with  hammock   saddle  and   wide 

He-bars,  as  he  plows  along  the  road,  making  erratic  dives,  like 
misbalaiM  i 

The  frequented    road    is    a    short    strip    on    the    Maidan,    an 

ions  dealing,  tire  and  seven-eighths  miles  in  circumference,  in 

which  is  ritual  William-      R  macadam  skirt  the 


ABOUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

park.  and   amid   cricket    colt"   and   football   grounds  -  ataes  aud 

columns  erected  to  Englishmen  who  have  performed  satisfactory  d 
in  India.    Eden  Garden,  at  one  end  of  the  Maidan.  is 
and  here,  morning  and  evening,  a  well-directed  baud  plays  - 
to  charm  >  -  rated  its'  -  Dug  in  early  even- 

g  the  Strand  is  also  gratifying.     The  sti         s  ct  aded  with 
n    in   white  and   red    robes,    silver   anklets    aud    DC  -     their 

head    and    ma  ss       -       -    but    faintly 

Burr.     -   _        -   ire  also  a  the  river  shore.     The  I  :mru- 

j  ghats  v  ■•aud  road  affords  a  dation  for  the 

-   simultaneously.     In  appearance,   the  ere: 
unpretentious,  simply  a  low-roofed  structure  divided  into  an  aleov, 
rwe  waiting  rooms  for  mown      -  Inter  0  -  -    isited  the 

crematory,  and  -    >wn  throughout  tl       -         -        at  by  an 

superintended  the  force  of  men  who  kept  going 
under  tit:  •  -     Not  of  less  interest,  but  far  less  disag 

-  .ucrively  Calcutta  feature.  KaB   i  -     -       temple  d< 

to  Kali,   goddess  -  reputed  in   Hindoo  lor.  ss  SS 

-  for  blood,  and  to  appease  and  propiti.v 

are  made.     Formerly  human  be     ss  offered,  but 

rule  the  custom  was  abolished,  an  I  kids  goats  subs 

is   the  method   offered,   and   as    fas       -    - 
rd.  the  bleeding  little  things    ire  seined 

t  s]  ish  with  a  henry  knife,  and  tk<  ss  trunk  is 

thrown  to  the  ground     We  witnessed  the    religious  rites  of 
aud  Chinese,  and  we  had  seen  the  •  -  Mfican 

ins,  but  nothing  approaches  the  furious  sm  aud  the  frenxy 

Hindoo  at  Kah  g  x  -  se» 

shi  I 

lr   te.  .  —  -  of  half  a  doaett  h 

an  entrance  into  the  temple,  and  ras     -  -  90 

nrfce  we  were  s  we  oh:.  1        se  of  the 

Her  fa 
,  s  of  an  octapus: 

red  tongues  •  skutta  goddess 

'vH-il  the  •  -        ition  of  destruction  —  -  vpul- 

- 

i.    who.    with  -  ts»   toss  -  »  the 

- 

chl  about  by  neg  to  s 

-     d  and  criH  ! 


88  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

and  that  one  of  the  devout  worshipers  might  easily  plunge  a  knife 
in  our  backs,  and  thus  earn  his  way  to  Hindoo  heaven  with  ease  and 
glory.  I  can  assure  my  readers  that  we  felt  easier  and  more  com- 
fortable when  once  more  in  our  gharry  and  the  horses  on  a  dead  run 
en  route  back  to  the  hotel.  We  learned  from  a  priest  at  the  ghat  why 
Calcutta  is  so  named,  the  title  being  a  British  corruption  of  Kalikata, 
the  name  bestowed  by  the  Emperor  Akbar,  in  1500,  in  commemoration 
of  the  proximity  of  Kali  ghat.  We  were  in  Calcutta  two  weeks  before 
the  cycling  fraternity  knew  of  our  arrival.  When  they  finally  discov- 
ered our  presence,  we  floated  along  on  a  wave  of  popularity.  Cyclists, 
dealers  and  agents  were  our  daily  companions  and  callers.  American 
machines  were  well-known  anl  liked,  and  wood  rims  and  single-tube 
tires  were  looked  upon  with  doubt,  but  after  an  inspection  of  the 
hardest-used  pair  of  wheels  the  world  ever  knew,  wood  rims  and  single 
tubes  took  on  the  ascendency. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


NIGnT  RIDING   THROUGH   INDIA    TO     ESCAPE     THE     HEAT — THREE   IMPUTENT 
ENGLISH  WHEELMEN  ENCOUNTERED   AT    BENARES. 

We  left  Calcutta  early  on  the  morning  of  May  4.  taking  the  Strand 
road,  across  the  sacred  Hoogly  river  by  means  of  the  Jubilee  bridge. 
We  were  accompanied  for  a  brief  distance  by  Mr.  W.  S.  Burke,  editor 
of  the  Asian,  the  only  legitimate  sporting  paper  in  the  East.  To  this 
gentleman  were  the  Inter  Ocean  tourists  indebted  for  maps,  guidance 
and  excellent  entertainment  while  in  the  city.  He  piloted  us  through 
a  road  shaded  by  magnificent  palm  trees,  an  avenue  40  feet  wide,  level 
as  a  billiard  table  and  smooth  as  asphalt.  Mr.  Burke  intormed  us 
that  this  was  the  "GraDd  Trunk"  road,  our  path  across  India  from 
shore  to  shore.  Most  of  our  riding  was  done  at  a  fast  clip,  in  spite  of 
the  fact  that  we  carried  full  luggage  cases,  camera,  guns,  water  can- 
teens, lamps,  and  bells  to  the  extent  of  50  pounds  each.  Only  twice 
did  we  dismount  in  the  twenty-five-mile  run  to  Chandernagore,  once  to 
induce  a  cautious  gate  tender  at  a  railroad  crossing  to  open  the  gates, 
the  second  time  to  view  the  terrible  cars  of  Juggernaut.  Much  has 
been  written  concerning  these  vehicles  and  the  manner  in  which 
they  are  hauled  about  on  festive  occasions,  and  in  former  days  crushed 
out  the  lives  of  hundreds  of  devout  fanatics,  who  endeavored  to  reach 
heaven  by  self-sacrifice.  One  would  naturally  believe  that  such  bar- 
baric practice  had  been  done  away  with  by  British  rule,  but  such  is 
not  the  case,  and,  despite  the  presence  of  police  and  soldiery,  each 
time  the  towering  car  is  hauled  out  by  worshipers  some  j)oor,  weak- 
minded  wretch  hurls  himself  under  the  ponderous  wooden  rollers. 


90  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

Burke,  good-natured,  fat  and  jolly,  left  us  at  Chandernagore,  but 
not  before  a  breakfast  at  the  same  hotel  where,  three  years  ago,  he 
had  breakfasted  with  poor  Lenz,  served  by  the  same  woman,  who 
spoke  also  of  "the  fine  little  lad"  who  was  lost  in  Armenia.  Intense 
heat  made  riding  dangerous  during  the  day,  and  after  we  left  Burd- 
wan,  on  May  5  (81  miles  from  Calcutta),  the  greater  part  of  our 
progress  was  accomplished  at  night.  We  never  realized  what  Indian 
heat  signified  until  now.  The  coolness  of  night  offers  many  induce- 
ments for  bullock-cart  caravans  to  travel,  and  a  sharp  outlook  has 
to  be  maintained  for  these  obstacles.  Our  arrival  at  the  Hotel  de  Paris 
in  Benares,  on  May  12,  completed  one-fourth  the  run  across  India,  a 
total  of  496  miles  from  Calcutta,  representing  a  succession  of  night 
rides,  with  stops  for  refreshment  and  rest  at  the  bungalows  along  the 
route.  Night  riding  in  India  is  the  only  way  to  avoid  paralyzing  heat, 
but  it  has  its  terrors  and  dangers,  and  after  some  of  my  experiences  in 
the  jungle  between  Delhi  and  Benares,  I  should  say  that  if  I  had 
the  trip  to  make  over  again,  I  should  undoubtedly  trust  to  the  mercies 
of  the  sun.  We  encountered  leopards  by  the  score,  and  though  leopards 
in  India  are  not  supposed  to  attack  humans,  we  could  not  help  our 
misgivings  at  the  sight  of  the  graceful  creatures,  as  they  silently 
bounded  their  way  through  the  jungle. 

0'ir  arrival  at  the  Hotel  de  Paris  caused  much  excitement.  The 
English  do  not  read  newspapers  as  generally  as  do  the  Americans, 
and,  with  but  one  exception,  not  one  man  around  the  hotel  had  the 
slightest  idea  who  we  were,  where  we  were  from,  or  what  we  were 
doing.  In  fact,  after  reading  the  "World's  Tour  for  the  Inter  Ocean, 
Chicago,  U.  S.  A.,"  as  printed  in  large  white  letters  on  our  luggage 
cases,  many  asked  us  politely,  "Pray,  what  is  the  meaning  of  the 
legend?"  We  had  learned  while  in  Calcutta  that  Messrs.  Lowe,  Lum 
and  Frazer,  who  had  left  England  on  a  cycling  tour  of  the  world 
in  1890,  were  on  their  way  across  India,  and  that  in  all  probability  we 
would  meet  them  in  Benares.  We  looked  forward  with  much  pleasure 
to  the  occasion  of  joining  hands  with  cyclists  who  understood  the 
hardships  of  great  journeys  in  strange  lands,  but  the  meeting  occa- 
sioned us  an  unexpected  set-back  in  our  natural  affection  for  fellow 
wheelmen.  The  trio  arrived  on  the  second  day  of  our  visit  in  Benares, 
and  immediately  sent  word  that  they  wanted  to  see  me.  I  called  upon 
them,  and  was  greatly  surprised  to  ascertain  that  they  looked  upon 
Mrs.  Mcllrath  and  myself  as  frauds.  They  questioned  me  closely  as 
to  my  journey,  and  concluded  by  commenting  upon  the  strangeness 
of  the  fact  that  they  had  never  heard  of  us  before.  This  I  did  not 
regard  as  unseeming,  since  few  of  the  inhabitants  of  "the  tight  little 
isle"   do  know  what  is   occurring  in  the  greater  part   of   the   world 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS.  91 

not  under  British  taxation.  Fifteen  minutes'  conversation  with  the 
Frazer  outfit  convinced  me  that  the  new  aspirants  to  globe-girdling 
honors  entertained  little  respect  for  Americans  in  general,  and  ourselves 
in  particular.  Lenz  they  declared  emphatically  a  nonentity  in  cycling 
history;  Tom  Stevens  was  totally  unreliable,  and  as  for  ourselves,  we 
had  undergone  no  hardships,  and  were  comparatively  new.  They 
probably  did  not  like  Stevens  because  he  was  the  original  "round 
the  world  on  bicycles;"  Lenz  because  he  had  accomplished  single-handed 
more  up  to  the  time  of  his  death  than  these  fellows  could  accomplish 
over  the  route  they  had  selected,  if  they  completed  their  program; 
and  Mrs.  Mcllrath  came  in  for  her  share  of  contempt  because  a  wee, 
slender  woman,  she  had  encompassed  what  they  averred  they  would 
attempt,  in  a  number  strong  enough  to  cross  the  threshold  of  any 
earthly  inferno  with  impunity. 

Their  object  in  circling  the  world  was  simply  to  make  the  journey, 
selecting  the  shortest,  most  expeditious  route,  and  arriving  home  as 
quickly  as  possible.  Frazer  was  once  a  "journalist/'  he  informed  me. 
but  had  deserted  journalism  to  become  an  author,  and  write  stories 
for  a  magazine  called  the  "Golden  Penny."  While  I  confessed  knowl- 
edge to  the  existence  of  the  Strand,  Pall  Mall  and  other  magazines  in 
England,  I  dropped  another  peg  lower  in  the  estimation  of  n>y  friends 
because  the  "Golden  Penny"  was  not  included  in  my  list  of  acquaint- 
ances. The. machines  the  cyclists  rode  were,  of  course,  English  make, 
weighed  twelve  pounds  more  than  our  own,  and  were  equipped  with 
mud  guards,  gear  cases  and  brakes.  The  tires  were  double-tube,  and 
the  fourth  pair  for  each  machine  were  now  in  use,  while  we  were  using 
the  same  set  of  single  tubes  placed  on  our  wheels  in  America.  Their 
machines  showed  signs  of  wear,  the  front  forks  of  each  having  been 
broken,  and  now,  after  only  one  year's  use,  the  frames  creaked  pain- 
fully and  the  apparatus  generally  looked  badly  "used  up."  The  luggage 
of  each  man  was  carried  in  a  small  valise  fastened  on  the  mud  guard 
over  the  rear  wheel,  and  large  tool  bags  hung  in  the  angles  of  the 
frame.  Each  carried  a  short-barreled,  cheap  revolver,  and  Lowe,  the 
most  gentlemanly  and  intelligent  of  the  trio,  carried  a  camera.  It  is 
needless  to  comment  further  upon  these  gentlemen.  They  announced 
their  intention  of  visiting  America,  and  one  declared,  as  I  informed  him 
how  cordial  he  would  find  our  cyclists,  mayors,  governors,  and  even 
the  president:  "We  shall  not  bother  about  Americans  much;  after 
being  entertained  by  the  Shah  of  Persia,  we  have  decided  to  let  your 
American  dignitaries  alone." 

We  were  entertained,  while  at  Benares,  in  the  castle  at  Fort  Ram- 
magar  by  the  Maharajah  of  Benares,  one  of  the  native  princes  of 
India.     His  Highness  sent  a  magnificently  appointed  carriage  to  the 


92  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

hotel  for  us,  with  the  proper  quota  of  coachmen  and  liveried  footmen; 
greeted  us  in  excellent  English,  and  soon  displayed  his  foreign  tenden- 
cies by  direct  inquiry  about  cycling,  American  foot-ball  and  base-ball, 
proudly  assuring  us  that  he  was  an  enthusiastic  foot-ball  and  polo 
player.  Nothing  but  our  anxiety  to  get  home  led  us  to  decline  his 
urgent  invitation  to  remain  his  guest  for  a  fortnight,  and  enjoy  a 
jungle  hunt  from  the  backs  of  trained  elephants.  The  kindness  of  the 
Maharajah  did  not  cease  with  our  visit  to  the  palace,  but  each  day 
we  were  the  recipients  of  delicious  fruit  fresh  from  his  garden,  and 
upon  our  departure,  on  May  22,  we  carried  letters  of  introduction 
to  native  gentlemen  and  officials  along  our  route,  who  were  requested 
to  show  us  every  attention  and  furnish  us  desired  information  which 
would  prove  of  interest  to  the  readers  of  the  Inter  Ocean  at  home. 
Still  holding  to  the  Grand  Trunk  road,  we  set  out  for  Allahabad.  The 
road  was  lonely  and  monotonous,  and  a  few  miles  out  from  Benares 
there  burst  upon  us  a  typical  tropical  tornado.  In  a  second's  time  the 
air  was  darkened  and  filled  with  sand.  Striking  us  from  a  quarter 
over  our  right  shoulders,  the  force  of  the  wind  pushed  us  along  at 
a  frightful  rate.  Sand  struck  against  our  goggles  with  a  gritting 
crunch,  filled  our  nostrils  and  ears,  and  forced  its  way  into  our 
mouths.  Leaves  and  twigs  struck  our  faces  with  stinging  force,  and 
shrieking  and  groaning  under  pressure  of  the  terrible  blasts,  the  trees 
along  the  road  threatened  every  moment  to  crush  us.  It  was  after 
dusk  when  the  storm  subsided,  and  we  found  shelter  in  a  village 
25  miles  away  from  Benares.  On  May  27,  in  Allahabad,  we  were 
given  an  example  of  India's  fiercest  heat.  Thermometers  indoors,  under 
the  influence  of  fans,  exhibited  112  degrees,  and  in  the  sunlight  open 
the  gauge  showed  105  degrees,  heat  almost  beyond  the  comprehension 
of  Americans.  We  remained  but  one  day  in  the  oven-like  hotel, 
starting  at  4  o'clock  the  next  morning,  riding  until  9,  then  resting  along 
the  roadway  until  nightfall,  making  Hie  journey  by  such  easy  stages 
to  Cawnpore,  "the  Manchester  of  India." 

Places  of  historical  interest  in  Cawnpore  are  calculated  as  four 
In  number:  first,  the  site  of  the  government  magazine,  where  Gen. 
Wheeler,  in  charge  of  Cawnpore  forces  in  1S57,  should  have  erected 
his  fortifications  of  defense;  second,  the  memorial  church  and  the  open 
field  south  of  the  structure,  where  he  did  assemble  his  limited  force 
and  the  refugees;  third,  the  Suttee  Chowra  ghat,  where  the  massacre 
of  the  retiring  troops  and  civilians  took  place;  and  fourth  and  last, 
Memorial  Garden,  which  commemorates  the  massacre  of  the  company 
of  women  and  children,  and  the  well  into  which  the  living  were  cast 
with  the  dead.  We  left  Cawnpore  on  Monday,  June  1,  for  Lucknow, 
one  of  the  most  populous  cities  of  India,  situated  directly  east  fifty 


94  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

miles.  We  sought  out  the  main  road  without  much  difficulty,  but 
for  the  first  seven  miles  we  had  any  amount  of  trouble,  through  about 
as  rough  and  uneven  bit  of  country  as  one  could  imagine.  As  we 
had  left  Cawnpore  at  5  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  we  had  run  up  only 
20  miles  to  our  credit  ere  darkness  compelled  us  to  light  our  lamps. 
While  engaged  in  this  operation  our  attention  was  attracted  by  awful 
groans  at  one  side  of  the  roadway.  Thinking  some  poor  outcast  was 
dying,  I  selected  one  of  the  lamps  and  proceeded  to  investigate.  A 
Wide  ditch  barred  my  progress  at  the  edge  of  the  road,  and,  mindful 
of  the  motto,  "Look  before  you  leap,"  I  flashed  the  cycle  lamp  rays 
on  the  opposite  side  to  select  a  favorable  place  to  alight.  There  was 
none  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  for  as  the  bright  rays  penetrated 
the  gloom,  they  revealed  a  large,  fine  cheetah,  or  panther,  crouched 
in  the  edge  of  the  brush,  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  glare  of  my  lamp,  and 
his  fangs  disclosed  in  excellent  array.  The  sight  was  a  rare  one,  but 
as  I  had  learned  from  books  all  I  cared  to  know  about  the  habits  of 
wild  beasts.  I  almost  broke  the  lamp  in  my  haste  to  extinguish  it 
and  get.  the  ever-handy  45.  Cautiously  picking  my  way  back  to  the 
wheels,  Mrs.  Mellrath  and  I  made  the  chains  and  sprocket  wheels 
grind  out  a  merry  tune  to  Lucknow. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

RACE  FOB  LIFE  WITH  A  MAD  DROVE  OF  BUFFALO — UNCLE  SAM'S  FLAG  A 
FEATURE  OF  THE  QUEEN'S  JUBILEE  CELEBRATION  AT  DELHI. 

It  was  our  idea  to  see  the  sights  of  Lucknow  in  two  days  and 
return  to  Cawnpore  on  the  evening  of  the  second,  but  our  plans  were 
changed,  as  Messrs.  Thoburn,  Robinson  and  Mansell,  of  the  American 
Methodist  Mission,  called  upon  us  at  the  hotel  and  transferred  us,  bag 
and  baggage,  to  the  Mission  as  their  guests.  Under  their  guidance  we 
remained  in  Lucknow  a  week.  Having  returned  to  Cawnpore.  we 
resumed  our  journey  on  June  11,  making  rapid  progress,  principally 
during  the  nights.  Ever  since  entering  China,  more  than  a  year  before, 
we  had  seen  daily  countless  numbers  of  the  hairless,  black,  water 
buffalo.  Many  Europeans  fear  them  and  consider  them  dangerous,  but 
they  treated  us  with  deference  until  Sunday,  June  20,  when  we 
encountered  a  herd  of  the  fierce  looking,  cumbersome  beasts  while 
pedaling  our  way  to  Delhi.  I  do  not  believe  the  buffalos  had  any 
premeditated  intention  of  attacking  us,  but  as  we  wheeled  slowly 
through  a  drove,  a  calf  became  imbued  witb  the  idea  that  bicycles 
were  dangerous.  He  bolted  straight  down  the  road  in  front  of  us, 
running  like  a  winner  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile.    Then  he  was  attracted 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS.  95 

by  some  tempting  green  leaves,  ami  baited  to  browse  upon  tbem.  As 
soon  as  we  passed  him.  the  machines  which  had  frightened  him  became 
an  attraction,  and  he  meekly  trotted  out  and  fell  in  line  behind  us. 
The  mother,  who  had  been  lumbering  along  in  the  rear,  became  excited 
at  the  unusual  conduct  of  her  son,  gave  a  few  short  snorts,  and  set 
out  in  pursuit.  Immediately  the  entire  drove  joined  in  the  novel 
race,  and,  with  a  thundering  clatter  of  hard  hoofs  ringing  in  our 
ears,  we  realized  that  we  were  being  pursued.  Faster  and  faster  we 
spun  along,  and  as  native  pilgrims  beard  the  uproar,  they  gave  one 
glance  at  the  avalanche  of  bicycle  and  buffalo  sweeping  down  upou 
tlu  in  and  scattered  to  the  right  and  left.  We  tried,  by  shouting  and 
waving  helmets  at  the  calf,  lo  drive  him  away,  but  in  vain,  and  the 
affair,  which  had  been  amusing  at  first,  settled  down  into  a  race  for  life. 
It  is  impossible,  as  readers  know,  lo  take  to  a  tree  when  on  a  cycle, 
so  there  was  nothing  else  to  do  but  set  a  pace  for  a  crazy  calf  and 
a  drove  of  jealous  buffalo,  and  for  the  next  mile  and  a  half  we  did  so. 
How  the  calf  came  to  change  his  mind  about  joining  his  fortune  with 
ours  I  do  not  know,  but  a  sudden  cessation  of  the  clatter  behind 
us  revealed  on  sight  the  calf  recumbent  in  a  pool  of  water,  with  his 
sympathizing  friends  and  relatives  standing  by,  grimly  looking  after 
us.  This  was  the  outcome  of  the  buffalos'  end  of  the  race;  ours  was 
garments  soaked  with  perspiration,  panting  breath,  and  ourselves  so 
heated  and  flushed  we  were  dizzy  and  faint. 

The  Queen's  Jubilee,  celebrated  Hie  day  following  our  arrival  in 
Delhi,  gave  us  opportunity  to  eujoy  an  illumination  scene  in  India, 
and,  though  we  observed  many  well-lighted  European  and  government 
employes'  houses,  I  should  not  say  that  the  Indian  is  as  much  a  lover 
of  British  rule  as  the  British  would  have  others  believe.  The  usual 
parade  of  soldiery  and  police  was  the  first  feature  of  the  evening,  and 
fireworks  the  final.  I  thoroughly  enjoyed  the  astonishment  caused  by 
the  presence  of  a  large  American  flag,  flying  from  a  staff  lashed  to 
the  life-sized  stone  elephant  which  stands  in  the  yard  of  the  gov- 
ernment building,  and  was  much  amused  at  the  inscriptions  on  the 
red  cloth  banners  which  the  natives  hung  over  their  doorways.  They 
read,  "Welcome  to  India;"  "Welcome  to  Delhi,"  and  a  rather  suggestive 
few  read,  "God  bless  the  Trince."  It  was  a  few  moments  before 
it  dawned  on  me  that  the  inscriptions  were  originally  made  to  please 
the  eye  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  when  that  great  functionary  of  corner- 
stone laying  and  baby  christening  was  doing  a  little  globe-trotting  at 
the  English  public's  expense.  Who  did  it,  and  why  that  American 
flag,  in  all  its  starry  beauty,  was  flying  in  front  of  a  government  build- 
ing, were  the  principal  questions  asked  by  army  and  police  officers 
the  next  day.    Delhi,  as  a  city,  was  founded  during  the  shadowy  ages, 


fi6  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

which  precludes  the  possibility  of  dates,  but  its  ruins  are  visible  to-day 
on  an  area  ten  miles  wide  and  fifteen  miles  long.  How  often  the  city 
has  changed  its  site  is  only  limited  to  the  victories  gained  by  invaders 
of  all  tribes  and  nations.  The  Rome  of  Asia,  Delhi  has  known  its 
Nero;  Maharrata,  Hindoo,  Jain,  Persian,  Afghan,  Mohammedan,  and 
the  cold,  unfeeling  Britain,  have  in  turn  ruled  over  the  Indian  Empire 
from  this  ancient  city,  and  the  truth  has  ever  been  proven  that  whoso- 
ever held  Delhi  ruled  India.  Delhi,  like  many  other  Indian  cities,  offers 
the  visitor  many  interesting  buildings  of  native  structure,  but  so 
often  have  we  viewed  with  reverence  and  awe  some  superb  building, 
only  to  learn  that  it  was  a  tomb  for  some  notable  departed,  that  the 
word  "tomb"  has  become  abhorrent.  India  will  linger  in  our  memory 
chiefly  as  one  vast  group  of  mausoleums,  set  in  an  arid  desert  and 
scorched  by  the  fires  of  a  sun  fierce  as  the  furnaces  of  Sheol. 

The  exposure  to  heat,  from  which  the  Inter  Ocean  cyclists  were  suf- 
fering daily,  led  to  Mrs.  Mcllrath's  serious  condition,  which  prevented 
our  departure  from  Delhi  on  June  24,  the  day  upon  which  we  had  made 
our  arrangements  to  leave.  WTith  face  swollen  so  that  her  eyes  were 
half-closed,  her  skin  was  entirely  covered  with  tiny  pimples.  Small- 
pox would  not  have  presented  a  more  pitiable  sight,  but  experts  pro- 
nounced the  case  prickly  heat,  and  beyond  advising  perfect  rest,  cool 
drinks  and  hot  baths,  declared  that  nothing  could  be  done  to  drive 
away  or  reduce  the  swelling.  Under  these  conditions  we  were  unable 
to  proceed  until  July  1,  but  with  the  delightful  attentions  shown  us  by 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Aitkin. of  the  Delhi  Morning  Post,  and  Major  Mainwaring, 
of  the  Native  Infantry,  time  did  not  hang  heavily  upon  our  hands.  We 
swung  into  the  main  road  at  6  o'clock  one  morning,  taking  the  Grand 
Trunk  once  more,  and  following  its  course  due  north.  Karnaul,  the 
city  which  we  should  have  reached  the  night  before,  had  it  not  been 
for  the  stiff  head  winds,  we  entered  at  S  o'clock  the  following  morning, 
just  in  time  to  escape  a  downfall  of  rain  which  detained  us  until  the 
next  day.  A  second  reminder  of  the  plucky  little  Lenz  we  found  in 
the  register  book  of  the  Karnaul  dak  bungalow,  which  read,  "F.  G.  Lenze, 
October  10.  1S03.  arrived  six  p.  m.  Departed  six  a.  m.,  October  12, 
American  Bicyclist."  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  this  was  only  the  second 
instance  in  which  we  found  trace  of  Lenz,  though  in  China,  Burmah 
and  India  we  traveled  in  all  over  four  thousand  miles  on  identically 
the  same  route. 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS.  97 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

PATRIOTISM    CURBED    JUST  IN  TIME — BAD  NIGHT  WITH  A  FANCIED  BITE  FROM 
A   COBRA — TWO    AMERICAN    INVALIDS    TOGETHER    IN    LAHORE. 

From  Karnaul  we  journeyed  steadily  north,  head-winds  baffling 
attempts  at  speed,  and  showers  and  sand  storms  retarding  us  for  hours. 
In  several  instances,  we  were  compelled  to  journey  along  the  railway 
line,  the  rains  having  swollen  the  river  to  such  an  extent  that  the 
roads  were  flooded.  Uruballa,  a  large  military  station  midway  be- 
tween Delhi  and  Lahore,  we  reached  on  the  morning  of  July  3,  and 
again  delayed  by  rain,  were  forced  to  spend  the  glorious  Fourth  in  that 
city.  Unfortunately  for  me,  the  dak  bungalow  was  situated  within  the 
cantonment  lines,  and  when  I  arose  at  daybreak,  prepared  to  fire  a 
salute  of  twenty-one  shots,  the  gentle-mannered  coolie  servant  gave 
a  terrified  look  at  the  gun  and  bolted  for  the  cook-house.  Before  I 
could  fire  once,  a  soldier  called  to  me  not  to  shoot  unless  I  wished  to 
be  carted  off  to  the  guardhouse  for  violating  military  orders,  which 
prohibit  firing  within  the  cantonment.  Undoubtedly  I  would  have  been 
arrested  on  the  charge  of  discharging  firearms  inside  the  lines,  creating 
a  disturbance,  and  possibly  treason,  and  I  dread  to  think  of  the  effect 
my  explanation  of  celebrating  the  Fourth  of  July  would  have  had  on 
an  Englishman,  especially  an  army  officer,  who  might  have  lived  on 
"Cornwallis  Road."'  Rain  fell  throughout  July  5,  on  which  day  we 
were  able  to  cover  only  eighteen  miles,  halting  for  the  night  at  the  little 
village  of  Kajpur.  Such  a  small  settlement  has  little  need  for  a  dak 
bungalow,  and  in  consequence,  travelers  who  are  so  unfortunate  as  to 
be  compelled  to  seek  shelter  for  the  night,  take  up  quarters  at  an 
ancient  building  owned,  but  unoccupied,  by  the  Rajah  of  Petialla. 
Mrs.  Mcllrath  declared  the  building  was  an  "old  cobra  trap,"  and  con- 
stantly on  the  watch  for  scorpions  and  snakes,  it  was  but  natural  that 
when  we  retired  our  dreams  were  of  reptiles. 

Several  times  in  the  night  I  was  awakened,  the  last  time,  along 
toward  morning,  by  a  severe  pain  in  my  left  leg.  Paralyzed  with  the 
thought  of  the  deadly  krite  and  cobra  bite,  and  the  absolute  certainty 
of  death  resulting  in  from  five  to  fifteen  minutes,  I  lay  calm  and  rigid 
for  a  moment,  thinking  I  was  the  victim  of  a  dream,  but  the  smarting 
in  my  leg  continued,  and  I  called  to  my  wife,  exclaiming  that  I  had 
been  bitten.  She  was  awake  in  an  instant,  and  lighting  the  lamp,  we 
looked  around  for  the  cobra.  Though  we  could  find  no  possible  trace 
of  a  snake,  there  were  on  my  leg  six  small  punctures,  arranged  in  a 
semi-circle.  For  an  hour  we  waited  for  indications  of  snake  poison  in 
my  system,  but  none  appeared.  Several  times  I  imagined  the  choking 
sensations  which  precede  complete  asphyxia,  were  attacking  my  throat, 
7 


98  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

but  a  gulp  of  water  or  a  puff  at  my  cigarette  dispelled  this  illusion,  and 
at  the  end  of  sixty  minutes  I  was  compelled  to  admit  that  my  experi- 
ence with  the  cobra  had  turned  out  a  dismal  failure.  I  cannot  to 
this  day  offer  any  possible  explanation  of  my  wounds,  unless  they  were 
indicted  by  Rodney,  the  pet  monkey  which  we  made  our  traveling 
companion  200  miles  back.  The  "monk"  occasionally  crept  up  on  my 
bed  to  avoid  the  ants  and  insects  which  swarmed  over  the  ground  and 
floors,  and  it  may  have  been  that  after  making  himself  comfortable, 
I  had  disturbed  him  and  he  retaliated  by  biting  the  offending  leg.  Few 
persons  who  have  not  visited  India  during  the  Summer  rains,  can 
realize  what  danger  there  is  from  poisonous  reptiles,  chiefly  the  krite 
and  cobra,  and  how  the  dreaded  things  creep  into  the  most  unusual 
places,  just  where  one  would  never  think  of  being  cautious.  In  one 
village  of  400  inhabitants,  through  which  Ave  passed,  five  persons  died 
from  snake  bites  during  the  five  days  preceding  our  arrival.  Unlike 
the  rattler,  the  krite  and  cobra  give  no  audible  warning,  except  a  slight 
hiss,  and  directly  opposite  is  the  effect  of  the  bite.  While  the  rattlei*'s 
poison  acts  on  the  blood,  it  may  be  mitigated  by  ligation  above  the 
wound  and  the  free  use  of  alcohol,  but  the  cobra  and  krite  wounds  act 
directly  upon  the  nerves,  producing  paralysis  and  asphyxia,  and  despite 
all  legends  to  the  contrary,  the  bite  of  either  reptile,  if  the  fangs  are 
intact,  is  as  surely  fatal  as  decanitation.  There  is  not  a  remedy  known 
which  will  even  prolong  life  after  the  bite  has  been  inflicted. 

Cities  of  considerable  size,  evidently  prosperous  and  well-kept,  are 
many  and  frequent  along  the  Trunk  road  in  Punjab,  and  under  an 
excellent  system  of  irrigating  canals,  crops  appear  vigorous  and  abun- 
dant. The  native  method  of  raising  water  from  the  canals  into  field- 
ditches  is  a  novelty  to  the  eyes  of  the  Westerner,  and  language  would 
never  describe  the  squeaking  water  wheel,  with  earthen  pots  in  place 
of  buckets,  and  the  slow-plodding,  patient  bullocks  that  revolve  the 
wheel.  "Persian  Wheels,"  the  primitive  machines  are  called,  and 
though  winds  are  strong  and  almost  perpetual,  no  one  appears  to  con- 
sider the  old  way  inefficient,  and  harness  wind  and  water  with  one  of 
the  powerful  wind  engines  which  dot  the  prairies  of  the  United  States. 
India  is  a  close  second  to  China  in  adhering  to  native  customs,  and 
after  a  journey  of  fifteen  hundred  miles,  made  through  the  country,  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  mingle  with  and  know  the  people,  I  am  of  the 
opinion  that  the  English  who  govern  India,  are  but  a  trifle  less  con- 
servative, and  that  what  broad  ideas  of  improvement  they  do  possess, 
that  would  materially  improve  the  natives'  condition  without  bene- 
fiting the  government  revenue,  are  never  allowed  to  develop  and 
expand.  India  is  not  governed  by  the  English  with  any  philanthropic 
ideas,  and  when  one  has  spent  a  few  months  poring  over  financial 


100  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

reports  and  statistics,  tax  lists  and  penal  codes,  the  idea  is  firmly  fixed 
in  the  mind  that  India  is  governed  by  the  English  for  England. 

I  have  already  spoken  of  the  risk  a  white  person  incurs  in  India 
by  being  exposed  to  the  rain.  Fever  is  almost  certain  to  follow,  and 
the  morning  after  our  arrival  in  Lahore,  I  found  Mrs.  Mcllrath  with 
a  temperature  of  104  degrees,  and  every  symptom  of  malaria.  Though 
I  struggled  through  the  day,  caring  for  her,  when  I  laid  down  at  night, 
the  ache  in  my  muscles  and  joints,  and  the  fire  which  raged  internally, 
warned  me  I  was  a  victim  also,  and  for  the  next  week  we  lay  side 
by  side,  comparing  temperatures  and  consoling  one  another.  To  be 
stricken  with  fever  in  India  is  one  of  the  most  terrible  punishments 
nature  can  visit  upon  the  violators  of  her  laws,  and  all  day  and  all 
night  through  we  lay  without  the  cooling  drinks,  the  ripe  fruits  and 
the  delicacies  and  attentions  which  ease  and  encourage  the  patient  at 
home.  By  Saturday,  July  17,  we  were  able  to  sit  up  and  totter  about 
the  room,  and  immediately  began  to  obtain  strength  by  carriage  rides 
in  the  cool  evening  air. 

Lahore  does  not  possess  temples,  mosques  and  tombs  of  great  archi- 
tectural merit,  but  its  chief  charm  lies  in  the  enormous  bazaars  which 
extend  for  miles  through  the  main  streets  of  the  city.  The  buildings 
are  two-story  affairs,  built  of  brick  and  covered  with  a  staff,  which, 
at  a  time  long  ago,  was  white  in  color.  The  shops  are  merely  square 
rooms,  with  open  fronts;  the  goods  piled  on  the  floors  and  hung  from 
the  ceiling  in  such  a  manner  as  to  prevent  walking  about  without 
danger  to  stock  and  inspector.  A  few  of  the  shops  bear  sign-boards, 
painted  in  English  letters.  One  in  particular  that  attracted  my  atten- 
tion, announced  that  "Subri  Lall  was  a  Dentist  and  Photographer." 
Another,  which  struck  me  as  being  peculiar,  announced  that  the  firm 
inside  sold  "fresh  salt,  patent  medicines  and  millinery."  Some  of  the 
characters  we  met  wandering  around  the  bazaars  selling  charms  and 
fetish  bags  were  most  interesting  fellows.  One  gigantic  Sikh,  who 
halted  at  the  side  of  our  carriage,  displayed  his  stock  in  trade  to  us, 
and  then  exhibited  his  personal  gear.  Under  his  tunic  he  wore  a  coat 
and  helmet  of  chain  mail;  in  the  belt  were  seven  knives  of  different 
sizes,  and  around  the  turban  were  three  sharped-edged  flat  circles  of 
steel,  which  are  thrown  in  the  same  manner  as  a  boomerang,  and  in 
skillful  hands  will  decapitate  an  enemy.  A  stout  club,  bound  with 
copper,  completed  the  Sikh's  outfit,  and  as  I  looked  upon  this  mail-clad, 
walking  arsenal.  I  could  but  be  impressed  with  how  very  little  was 
English  rule  and  law  respected  and  feared.  Lahore  marked  the  end 
of  our  journey  along  the  Grand  Trunk  road,  as  from  that  city  on  Tues- 
day, July  20,  we  turned  directly  south  toward  the  Persian  Gulf  and 
the  city  of  Kurachee.    Only  thirteen  miles  of  the  eight  hundred  and 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS.  101 

twenty-four  were  covered  the  first  evening,  and  though  the  two  hours 
of  jolting  and  jarring  were  keenly  telt,  when  we  dismounted  at  the 
solitary  little  station  at  Kana  Kacha,  the  experience  was  welcomed. 
It  was  home-like,  for  we  had  not  forgotten  our  ride  across  Illinois, 
Iowa,  Colorado,  Utah  and  Nevada  on  similar  paths,  usually  used  by 
the  iron  horse  and  the  healthy  but  indigent  hobo.  Truly  patriotism 
does  assume  some  homely  forms  in  the  American  absent  from  home, 
but  then  patriotism  is  satisfying  in  any  form. 

We  were  now  entered  on  the  most  dangerous  portion  of  our  two 
thousand  miles  ride  across  India.  Not  only  did  we  abandon  all  hope 
for  finding  an  occasional  stretch  of  road,  which  would  afford  relief 
from  the  monotonous  jolt  and  jar  of  riding  on  track  ballast,  but  had 
made  up  our  minds  to  expect  poor  accommodation  in  the  villages  along 
our  route.  In  the  face  of  the  heat  and  obstructions  on  the  road,  how- 
ever, we  managed  to  schedule  fifty  miles  a  day  before  reaching 
Changa  Manga.  I  met  a  delightful  gentleman  in  Montgomery,  where 
we  spent  two  days  and  a  night.  He  was  Mr.  Fitzherbert,  a  civil  engi- 
neer, who  had  originally  landed  in  India  as  first  officer  on  a  merchant- 
man. I  was  surprised  to  learn  that  a  relationship  existed  between  his 
family  and  the  famous  Stonewall  Jackson,  which  fact  made  us  fast 
friends.  Regarding  the  city  in  which  we  were,  I  can  best  dismiss  the 
subject  in  Mr.  Fitzherbert's  own  language: 

"Yes,"  said  he,  "Montgomery  is  quite  a  large  place,  far  different 
from  the  little  settlement  in  the  desert  that  I  first  knew.  There  are 
now  4.000  inhabitants,  2,500  are  in  jail  and  the  balance  should  be,  but 
as  I  care  little  for  society  that  fact  does  not  worry  me,  and  the  presence 
of  the  city  jail  assists  in  making  the  town.  The  heat  in  Montgomery 
is  what  renders  it  almost  unbearable.  Last  year  we  stood  at  the 
head  of  the  list  in  India,  and  let  me  tell  you  in  quiet  confidence,  that  a 
man  that  can  exist  ten  years  in  Montgomery  will  thoroughly  enjoy 
himself  in  hell." 

Early  in  the  morning  of  July  28  we  said  good-bye  to  our  friends  in 
Montgomery,  and  resumed  our  grind  along  the  railway  line,  but  we 
were  lonesome  no  longer.  Each  train  that  passed  us  was  manned  by 
a  crew  who  greeted  us  with  cheers  and  encouraging  signals  as  the 
train  whizzed  by,  and  we  humbly  and  laboriously  bucked  along  over 
the  humps  and  high  spots.  From  Kacha  Khuh  we  took  a  run  over  to 
Mooltan  City,  returning  to  Kacha  Khuh  by  rail.  The  break  in  the  jour- 
ney afforded  us  time  to  form  new  anrl  desirable  acquaintances,  and 
various  little  trips,  via  rail,  such  as  this,  furnished  us  with  an  insight 
of  a  phase  of  life  in  India  of  which  we  knew  nothing  before,  and  which 
will  never  cease  to  be  of  interest  to  us— the  joys  of  a  traveler  on  a  rail- 
way line  conducted  by  the  English  Government  on  the  English  system. 


102  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

In  India  passengers  may  be  transported  in  three  classes,  first,  second 
and  third,  and  as  I  have  yet  to  learn  anything  English  which  is  branded 
first-class  and  touches  the  American  idea  of  A  1,  we  did  not  for  a 
moment  consider  the  second  and  third  rate  inducements  of  low  fare. 
Purchasing  two  slips  of  pasteboard  at  the  "booking  office,"  for  which 
we  paid  two  cents  a  mile,  we  were  informed  that  we  could  take  the 
triangular  luggage  cases,  which  we  wished  to  check,  into  the  carriage 
with  us,  no  goods  being  checked,  but  dumped  into  the  "brake  van"  to 
be  called  for  and  identified  by  the  owner.  The  first-class  carriage  was 
easily  identified  on  the  exterior  by  a  coat  of  white  paint,  but  the  first 
glance  into  the  interior  would  have  led  one  to  believe  it  was  a  well- 
loaded  furniture  van,  on  any  old  day  about  May  1.  Our  fellow  pas- 
sengers were  a  Catholic. priest  and  a  lieutenant  of  Her  Majesty's  army, 
and  into  a  space  only  eight  feet  long  were  piled  their  belongings.  I 
took  an  inventory  and  counted  five  trunks,  two  valises,  four  hat-boxes, 
a  wash  bowl  in  a  leather  case,  cane,  golf  stick,  riding  whip,  four  large 
sun  helmets,  two  rolls  of  bedding,  one  bundle  of  books  and  a  lunch 
hamper.  Arriving  at  Kacha  Khuh,  we  managed  to  attract  the  atten- 
tion of  the  guard,  who  kindly  released  us,  and  as  we  dismounted  from 
the  carriage  we  were  convinced  that  our  cycles  afforded  us  just  about 
as  great  speed,  comfort  and  certainly  less  inconvenience  than  the  gov- 
ernment railway  train  in  India.  Truly  the  Chinese  are  hide-bound  in 
customs,  but  the  English  run  them  a  close  race.  Though  many  of  their 
methods  are  modern,  in  railways,  hotels  and  conveniences  for  the  public 
at  large,  they  are  far  in  the  rear  of  the  ever-advancing  army  of 
modern  progress  which  has  its  headquarters  in  the  United  States  of 
America,  and  whose  generals  are  the  same  "wooden  nutmeg"  inventing 
Yankees,  of  whom  the  English  so  often  speak  lightly. 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS.  103 

CHAPTER  NX. 

THE    PET   MONKEY  DINES  UPON  RUBBER  TIRES  AND  DELAYS    PROGRESS — OFFI- 
CIALS REFUSE   TO  LET  THE  TOURISTS  GO  THROUGH   BELOOCHISTAN. 

Our  last  days  in  India  were  spent  during  the  monsoon  season. 
The  deserts  had  become  lakes  of  steaming  water,  the  matted  under- 
growth of  rank  grass  and  vegetation  rotting,  and  that  we  escaped  with- 
out malarial  or  typhoid  fever  was  almost  a  miracle.  The  railway 
tracks,  which  formed  our  only  path,  were  cut  away  by  the  flood  of 
ceaseless  rain.  The  ballast  had  been  swept  away  and  the  clay  em- 
bankment cut  into  a  series  of  gullies.  Four  hundred  miles  we  had  to 
push  and  plod  our  way  through  this  sticky  mass.  We  left  Khanpur  on 
the  evening  of  Aug.  IS.  The  rain  had  been  pouriug  down  for  three 
days,  and  had  subsided  into  a  steady  drizzle,  which  we  deemed  the 
most  favorable  opportunity  we  would  have  for  a  start.  We  arrived 
at  Daharki,  in  the  plague-stricken  district  of  India,  on  Aug.  20.  We 
spent  the  next  day,  Sunday,  at  Daharki,  and  early  on  the  morning  of 
Aug.  22  we  started  out  on  a  day  of  mishaps.  Before  we  had  passed 
the  yard  limits  my  rear  tire  collapsed,  necessitating  a  delay  of  half 
an  hour.  Then  an  unusually  long  bridge  of  open  structure  made  our 
limbs  tremble,  and  scarcely  two  miles  further  came  a  second  puncture. 
Under  ordinary  circumstances  punctures  with  the  outfit  and  tire  we 
use  are  trifling  affairs,  but  when  each  minute  counts,  as  with  a  race 
with  the  sun,  such  delays  are  of  as  great  importance  to  us  as  any 
delay  to  the  fire  department  on  its  way  to  a  conflagration.  Three 
hours  interviewed,  when  a  loud  hiss  fiom  my  rear  tire  annnuncod  a  third 
puncture,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  rim,  bumping  and  smashing  on  the 
stone  ballast,  announced  that  I  was  "without  air."  Throe  punctures 
in  less  than  thirty  miles  was  a  record  to  which  we  were  quite  unaccus- 
tomed. With  a  third  disaster,  and  no  plugs  to  repair  with,  my  sus- 
picions were  aroused  and  upon  investigation  I  found  five  large  wounds 
in  the  tire.  As  the  injury  extended  along  one  side  only,  and  that  the 
side  which  did  not  come  in  contact  with  the  ballast,  I  examined  the 
sides  and  found  the  threads  torn  outward.  While  sitting  on  the  edge 
of  the  railroad  ties,  gloomily  reflecting  on  the  long  walk  before  me, 
and  wondering  who  could  so  maliciously  have  damaged  my  tire,  the 
pet  monkey,  Rodney,  crawled  from  his  resting  place  in  the  bosom  of 
my  coat  and  began  plucking  grass  and  herbs.  I  paid  but  little  attention 
to  him  until  I  heard  a  sound  at  the  wheel,  and  turned  just  in  time  to 
discover  Rodney  chewing  ;i  fresh  hole.  I  had  caught  the  offender  in 
the  act,  and  subsequent  observations  convinced  me  that  lie  was  deter- 
mined either  to  make  a  monkey  of  us,  or  satisfy  the  inexplicable  monkey 
in  him.    The  only  reason  I  failed  to  kick  that  grinning  ape  into  space 


104  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

larger  than  that  longed  for  by  the  most  ardent  balloonist,  was  that  he 
skipped  through  a.  barb  wire  fence  quicker  than  I  could  reach  him 
with  my  foot.  Mrs.  Mcllrath  carried  him  into  Sarhad,  for  had  he  been 
consigned  to  my  care  I  fear  he  would  have  been  cast  adrift  on  the 
Indus.  I  reached  Sarhad  at  noon,  and  had  the  journey  been  a  mile 
longer  the  heat  certainly  would  have  killed  me.  From  Sarhad  I  wired 
for  our  trunks  and  got  them  after  much  difficulty.  They  were  billed  to 
a  station  forty  miles  ahead,  and  the  station  master  at  first  refused 
flatly  to  surrender  them.  He  gave  them  to  me  after  my  protests,  that 
without  them  I  should  have  to  walk  forty  miles  more.  The  plugs  were 
found,  the  necessary  repairs  made  and  at  5  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  we 
were  again  upon  our  way. 

Lacki  Pass,  which  had  been  our  bugbear  for  several  weeks,  proved 
a  serious  undertaking,  but  one  which  we  made  with  far  less  incon- 
venience than  we  had  anticipated.  Lacki  Pass  is  the  section  of  railway 
from  Dadu  to  Lacki.  Many  persons  in  discussing  our  journey  had  said 
to  us  in  tones  of  significance:  "Well,  just  wait  until  you  get  to  Lacki 
Pass."  Sand  of  depth  and  finest  quality  was  the  first  obstacle  we 
encountered  ere  we  entered  the  first  cutting  through  stone.  The  pass 
would  be  called  a  canyon  in  America,  for  on  one  side  flowed  the  broad 
Indus,  then  in  torrent,  and  on  the  other  rose  the  steep,  rocky  face  of  the 
mountain.  We  decided  the  momentous  question  of  Lacki  Pass  by 
mounting  our  wheels  and  cycling  along  the  narrow  ledge  just  outside 
the  rails  and  next  the  precipice.  Our  path  was  not  all  that  could  be 
desired  by  novices.  It  was  only  a  foot  in  width,  beset  in  places  with 
stones  and  boulders,  with  the  foaming  river  hundreds  of  feet  below; 
but  then  the  Inter  Ocean  cyclists  had  long  ago  passed  the  novice  stage, 
and  we  set  out  at  a  good  pace.  Hundreds  of  water  buffalos  were  scram- 
bling along  the  rocks  at  the  base  of -the  mountain,  or  wallowing  through 
the  coves  of  slack  water,  but  excepting  the  occasions  that  we  dis- 
mounted to  cross  some  trestle  which  spanned  a  chasm,  we  had  little 
time  to  observe  scenery.  Five  miles  up  the  steep  grade,  a  half  hour's 
riding  along  the  dizzy  height,  and  we  passed  the  little  station  of  Bag- 
atara,  congratulating  ourselves  that  we  were  almost  into  the  cuttings 
which  would  lead  to  the  plain  below.  The  bend  which  carried  us  from 
the  edge  of  the  precipice  ended  our  ride,  for  we  were  invited  to  the 
home  of  a  Mr.  Swetenham,  who  had  come  up  the  tracks  behind  us  on 
a  hand-car.  There  were  three  miles  more  of  the  pass  to  cover,  but  the 
dinner  invitation  was  too  much  for  us  and  we  loaded  our  wheels  on 
his  hand-car  and  rolled  into  Lacki. 

We  were  a  sorry  looking  pair  as  we  set  out  on  the  last  short  relav 
in  India.  The  cooking  pots  which  we  carried  clattered  and  rattled 
noisily  as  they  banged  against  the  frames  of  our  bicycles.    The  lug- 


106  ABOUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

gage  cases  were  heavily  laden;  our  front  tires,  long  ago  worn  out  as  rear 
tires,  leaked  badly;  the  cork  grips  were  gone  from  our  handle-bars, 
and  the  felt  pads  of  our  saddles  had  become  hard  as  wood.  Our  attire 
was  thoroughly  in  keeping  with  the  disreputable  appearance  of  our 
wheels.  Helmets  were  battered  and  patched,  clothes  torn  and  stained, 
shoes  scuffed  and  cut  to  relieve  swollen  feet,  and  stockings  darned  with 
thread  of  all  colors.  Mrs.  Mcllrath,  covered  with  prickly  heat,  looked 
as  though  bees  had  stung  every  portion  of  her  hands  and  face,  and  I 
hardly  recognized  my  own  self  in  the  mirror  in  the  gaunt,  hollow- 
cheeked,  dull-eyed,  yellow-skinned  skeleton.  Our  objective  point  was 
Knrrachee.  We  had  a  good  path,  exceptionally  free  from  culverts  and 
bridges,  and  in  the  white  light  of  the  moon,  fanned  by  the  cool  breeze 
from  the  sea,  we  sped  merrily  along  until  a  low-railed  bridge  obstructed 
our  path,  a  sign-board  indicating  that  we  were  but  four  miles  from 
Dabhugi,  the  village  where  we  intended  to  eat  our  lunch.  We  were  so 
close  upon  the  bridge  before  dismounting,  that  to  check  my  heavy- 
laden  wheel  I  had  to  run  a  few  steps  with  it.  Bracing  one  foot  against 
the  curb  of  the  bridge,  my  eye  moved  involuntarily  to  where  my  foot 
rested.  I  was  having  another  encounter  with  a  cobra.  The  black  mon- 
ster was  stretched  out  in  heavy  line  four  feet  long.  He  was  of  the 
hooded  species,  the  most  deadly  of  his  family,  and  I  stood  face  to  face 
with  death  in  his  most  terrible  garb.  I  should  have  retreated,  I  should 
have  shot  the  hideous  thing,  I  should  have  done  anything  else  but 
what  I  did,  to  stand  terrified  without  power  to  move  a  muscle.  Sud- 
denly the  snake  coiled  itself  into  a  knot,  then  twisted  around  in  a 
circle  and  disappeared  in  one  of  the  crevices  of  the  loose  rock  on  the 
slope  of  the  stream.    It  was  one  of  the  closest  escapes  I  have  to  relate. 

We  were  in  Knrrachee  for  a  week,  an  attack  of  fever  detaining  me. 
Then  began  preparation  for  our  trip  through  Beloochistan,  a  trip  which 
we  did  not  take.  From  Knrrachee  there  is  a  telegraph  line  which 
skirts  the  coast,  of  Beloochistan  and  enters  Persia.  This  was  the  route 
we  had  calculated  upon  since  leaving  Chicago,  and  with  a  view  of 
assisting  us  to  obtain  information  regarding  the  conditions  of  the 
road,  the  distances  and  supply  stations,  Mr.  W.  Flowers  Hamilton,  the 
United  States  consular  agent,  gave  a  dinner,  at  which  we  met  a  num- 
ber of  British  officials  and  heads  of  the  railway  department.  These 
same  gentlemen  had  enteitained  Lenz  on  his  journey,  but  when  the 
subject  was  broached  of  Mrs.  Mcllrath  and  myself  making  the  same 
trip,  great  surprise  was  expressed  and  the  question  advanced  as  to 
whether  or  not  the  government  would  permit  it.  "But  why  should 
Lenz  be  permitted  to  pass  through  and  not  ourselves?"  I  asked  of  Mr. 
Barker,  the  telegraph  superintendent.  "Things  were  different  then," 
he  replied.    "The  borders  from  Cashmere  to  the  gulf  are  now  up  in 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS.  107 

arms,  and  battles  are  being  fought  daily,  and  not  with  the  most  satis- 
factory result  to  the  government  either.*'  This  was  the  first  intimation 
we  received  that  the  government  would  probably  interfere  with  our 
action.  The  second  came  a  few  days  later  in  a  letter  from  the  Ameri- 
can Consular  Department,  which  caused  me  post  haste  to  begin  a  syste- 
matic routine  of  calls  upon  the  British  officials.  The  letter  was  dated 
Sept.  14,  and  signed  by  Mr.  Hamilton.  Briefly,  it  was  a  protesl  against 
our  intention  of  proceeding  to  Beloochistan.  "I  am  not  a  pessimist," 
he  wrote,  "and  would  be  the  last  person  to  thwart  your  desires  in  any 
way,  were  there  the  remotest  chance  of  your  safely  accomplishing  the 
journey  you  have  planned.  I  feel,  though,  that  since  the  natives  be- 
tween this  and  the  Persian  frontier  are  bound  to  forcibly  resist  your 
passage  to  the  territory,  that  to  attempt  the  journey  would  mean  sud- 
den death  to  you  both,  and  I  earnestly  request  you  to  accept  my  advice 
and  to  adopt  the  alternative  route  via  Bushire,  Shiraz,  Ispaham, 
Teheran,  Tabriz  and  Batoum." 

I  called  upon  Mr.  Wingate.  commissioner  of  Scinde,  and  Capt.  Tighe, 
and  though  I  used  every  argument,  offering  to  assume  all  risks  and  to 
relieve  the  government  of  any  responsibility,  their  consent  of  the  promise 
of  an  indifferent  altitude  was  withheld.  "But  if  I  am  willing  to  attempt 
the  journey  alone  without  Mrs.  Mcllrath?"  was  my  argument.  "It  is 
evident  that  you  do  not  clearly  understand  the  situation."  was  the 
reply.  "Your  life  would  not  be  worth  one  cent  ten  miles  from  the 
border."  This  was  the  final  argument,  and  there  was  nothing  for  us 
to  do  but  scratch  Beloochistan  from  the  list,  and  prepare  to  take  one  of 
the  British  India  steamers  leaving  for  Bushire,  on  Sept.  28. 

Our  trip  through  India  was  severe  upon  us.  physically,  and  we  were 
compelled  to  suffer  many  inconveniences,  hardships  and  even  torture 
from  hunger,  thirst  and  weather.  There  is  much  misery  in  India  and 
unalterable  condition  which  fcrbid  that  its  people  ever  be  benefited 
by  British  rule,  or  that  a  sympathetic  bond  be  established  between  the 
European  and  Indian.  But  none  who  visit  its  shores  will  ever  have 
aught  to  say  that  both  are  not  hospitable,  or  that  the  Englishmen  in 
India  do  not  strive  earnestly  and  sincerely  to  execute  the  duties  of  their 
office. 


108  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

OFF  TO    PERSIA    BY  WAY    OF    STEAMSHIP    "ASSYRIA" — FREQUENT    MEETINGS 
WITH   ROAD   AGENTS   AND   AMERICAN   FIRE-ARMS   TO   THE   RESCUE. 

We  took  passage  on  the  little  coasting  steamer  "Assyria,"  leaving 
Kurraehee  on  Sept.  28,  at  7  o'clock  in  the  morning.  There  were  but 
two  other  passengers  in  the  cabin  besides  Mrs.  Mcllrath  and  myself, 
one  a  wealthy  Arab,  the  other  a 'missionary  of  the  Reformed  Dutch 
Church.  The  voyage  across  the  Persian  Gulf  was  colorless  and  void 
of  incident.  Passengers,  captain  and  officers  expressed  regret  that  Mrs. 
Mcllrath  and  I  had  been  so  unfortunate  in  selecting  a  year  which  had 
created  so  much  disturbance  in  Persia.  Scarcity  of  crops  had  forced 
many  villagers  to  subsist  by  robbery  and  murder  of  travelers,  and 
within  a  single  day's  journey  of  the  coast  hundreds  of  cases  were  re- 
ported. Politics  were  affected  also,  many  threats  of  violence  being  heard 
against  the  Shah  and  his  corps  of  diplomats.  With  such  a  gloomy  out- 
look for  a  peaceful  passage  through  the  wild  lands,  and  the  knowledge 
that  winter  would  overtake  us  in  the  mountains  of  Asiatic  Turkey,  we 
had  good  cause  for  feeling  blue  as  we  sighted  the  hazy  shores  which 
loomed  up  in  the  distance  on  Oct.  8.  We  anchored  three  miles  off  shore, 
shortly  after  daybreak.  After  breakfast,  a  boat  came  alongside,  the 
pilot  ran  up  the  gang  stairs  and  informed  us  of  the  arrival  in  Bushire 
of  a  package  of  letters.  As  we  were  almost  destitute,  this  bit  of  news 
made  us  all  the  more  impatient  to  be  off.  Gathering  up  our  boxes, 
bicycles  and  the  monkey,  we  shook  hands  with  the  genial  crew  of  the 
"Assyria"  and  pushed  off  for  Bushire. 

To  learn  that  there  were  no  telegrams  and  news  concerning  our 
money,  which  had  been  lost  in  the  mails  to  Kurraehee,  would  have 
stunned  us  had  we  been  anything  but  American  nomads.  Bushire  did 
not  afford  a  hotel,  and  two  paupers  were  forced  to  look  up  an  Armenian 
shop-keeper,  and  persuade  him  to  clear  two  rooms  in  an  unfinished 
building,  and  furnish  us  with  bedding  and  food  during  our  enforced 
stay.  By  sundown  on  the  day  of  our  arrival  we  were  comfortably 
installed,  and  though  seriously  crippled  as  active  participants  in  the 
world's  tour,  we  were  happy  and  cheerful.  Though  the  community  of 
foreigners  in  Bushire  was  small,  there  is  a  certain  sympathetic  bond 
between  all  which  renders  the  circle  delightful,  and  as  all  welcome  a 
new  arrival  with  outstretched  arms,  we  found  our  stay  in  the  town  a 
very  pleasant  one.  We  were  dined  by  Mr.  Ferguson  and  Mr.  Churchill, 
of  the  Interior  Bank  of  Persia;  Surgeon  Captain  Lumsden,  Mr.  J. 
Meyer  and  Col.  Mead,  the,  British  Consul  General.  We  also  enjoyed 
a  delightful  little  "tiffin"  with  Mr.  Christmas,  of  the  Indo-European 
Telegraph  Company's  inspection  corps,  and  all  of    these    gentlemen 


ON  DECK  OF  THE  STEAMSHIF  "ASSYBIA."-(See  Page  108). 


110  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

united  in  preparing  us  for  our  journey  inland.  As  the  first  and  second 
steamers  arriving  from  India  brought  no  news  of  ^ur  lost  money,  we 
finally  gave  up  all  idea  of  restoration,  and  deciding  that  a  longer  wait 
was  impracticable,  made  preparation  to  start  at  once,  having  communi- 
cated by  cable  with  our  American  resources.  Alter  a  week  of  laying 
in  stores,  supplies  and  heavy  clothing,  obtaining  passports,  permits  to 
sleep  in  telegraph  stations,  and  letters  of  introduction,  we  bade  adieu 
to  our  friends  on  Nov.  8,  and  following  in  the  rear  of  a  gang  of  coolies, 
started  forth  to  Teheran. 

The' journey  from  Bushire  to  Teheran  may  be  divided  into  three 
complete  stages:  first,  from  Bushire  to  Shiraz,  173  miles;  thence  to 
Ispahan,  312  miles;  then  on  to  Teheran,  285  miles.  To  cycle  from  Bu- 
shire to  Shiraz  is  quite  as  impossible  as  to  cycle  up  the  side  of  Pike's 
Teak.  The  elevation  often  reaches  6,000  feet  and  the  road  is  a  mass  of 
boulders  and  deep  sand.  The  ascent  is  not  gradual,  but  a  continuation 
of  terraces  called  "kotals"  by  the  Persians,  and  in  these  kotals  donkeys 
are  the  only  creatures  which  can  safely  walk  and  carry  burdens.  Our 
path  lay  through  uninhabited  sand  desert,  with  not  a  tree  or  shrub 
visible.  Walking  over  unbroken  road  by  the  side  of  a  patient  and 
heavily-laden  mule  is  as  tiresome  as  it  is  monotonous,  and  we  were  a 
badly  used  pair  when  we  arrived  at  Kushub,  the  end  of  our  first  day's 
journey  in  Persia.  Resuming  the  trip  the  next  morning,  we  soon 
caught  up  with  a  caravan  of  three  score  mules,  laden  with  shiny  tin 
cases  of  petroleum,  which  bore  the  welcome  brand,  "made  in  the  United 
States."  Our  forces  now  consisted  of  more  than  fifty  men,  the  major- 
ity armed  with  muzzle-loading  rifles,  a  few  with  pistols  and  the 
remainder  with  clubs  having  iron  knobs  at  the  end.  We  felt  then  suf- 
ficiently strong  to  resist  the  robbers,  against  whom  we  had  been 
warned.  The  bandits  first  manifested  themselves  when  the  caravan 
was  stopped,  and  the  head  muleteer  asked  for  a  "present."  I  was 
astounded  to  find  that  the  robbers  were  none  other  than  a  few  sol- 
diers who  were  supposed  to  be  guarding  a  little  village  we  had  passed 
some  miles  back.  As  the  "present"  is  always  cash,  and  often  demanded 
at  the  muzzle  of  a  gun,  the  courts  of  any  civilized  country  would  prob- 
ably call  such  proceeding  highway  robbery,  but  in  Persia,  where  troops 
are  unpaid  at  under-paid  rates,  and  often  go  ragged  and  hungry  for 
years,  the  laws  cannot  be  supposed  to  be  of  superior  standing  to  the 
army.  Toward  Mrs.  Mcllrath  and  me  the  unkempt  rascals  were  civil 
enough,  but  persisted  in  detaining  the  muleteers.  I  suppose  the  basis 
of  a  "present"  was  finally  agreed  upon,  for  the  orders  were  given  to 
push  on  after  a  brief  delay.  We  were  slightly  in  advance  of  the  cara- 
van, continuing  our  Avay  among  the  boulder-strewn  foothills,  when  just 
about  daybreak,  three  men  sprang  from  behind  rocks  and  halted  us. 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  OX  WHEELS.  Ill 

They  demanded  money.  Our  servant  was  slightly  in  advance  of  Mrs. 
Mcllratib  and  me,  and  he  promptly  pushed  a  45-calibre  revolver  under 
the  nose  of  the  leader.  The  second  man  looked  into  my  rifle,  and  in  less 
than  ten  seconds  so  many  gun  locks  clicked  behind  my  hack  thai  I 
feared  one  would  be  discharged  by  accident,  and  the  boy  and  myself 
perforated  as  well  as  the  bandits.  It  was  evident  from  the  manner  of 
the  trio  that  they  realized  that  they  had  made  a  mistake,  but  whether 
the  mistake  lay  in  the  fact  that  we  were  well  armed,  or  that  we  were 
foreigners,  was  not  made  clear.  Tnoy  declared  themselves  soldiers,  who 
only  wished  a  "present"  and  when  I  refused  to  accept  their  explanation, 
they  protested  that  they  were  honest  men,  but  hungry.  Such  might 
have  been  the  case,  but  we  gave  them  nothing  except  advice  that  they 
sell  their  guns  and  buy  bread.  An  attempt  on  the  part  of  a  second  trio 
of  men,  encountered  a  few  days  later,  to  obtain  a  contribution,  resulted 
in  an  exhibition  of  spunk  by  Mrs.  Mcllrath.  The  leader  had  seized  the 
bridle  of  her  mule,  and  startled  her  to  such  an  extent  that  she  poked 
the  muzzle  of  her  revolver  into  the  fellow's  face.  The  villain  released 
his  grip  and  apologized  profusely  for  not  having  recognized  us  as  Euro- 
peans. They  seemed  to  think  that  so  long  as  they  robbed  only  the 
natives,  they  committed  no  crime. 

We  halted  at  Diriz  on  Oct.  12,  having  been  on  the  road  for  twelve 
hours  without  food.  The  muleteers,  for  some  reason,  probably  anxiety 
to  fulfill  their  contract  and  be  through  with  us,  protested  against  the 
delay,  urging  that  we  could  find  neither  food,  water  nor  shelter  in  the 
place.  I  had  learned  by  this  time  that  the  low  caste  Persians  are  born 
liars,  and  insisting  upon  the  stop,  we  found,  just  as  we  had  expected, 
both  food  and  water.  AVe  refreshed  ourselves,  and  two  hours  later  pro- 
ceeded at  snaiMike  pace  across  the  plain  to  Kazeroon.  We  spent  three 
days  in  this  city,  the  guests  of  Mr.  Marker,  an  excellent  type  of  the 
educated  Armenian,  who  furnished  us  with  much  information  and  took 
care  to  see  that  we  were  started  on  our  journey  in  proper  form. 
Wearied  by  the  fatigue  of  sleepless  days  and  monotonous  journeying 
by  night,  Ave  changed  our  hours  for  travel  when  we  left  Kazeroon,  tak- 
ing our  departure  at  8  o'clock  in  the  morning.  One  of  the  most  laborous 
tasks  of  our  entire  journey  was  now  before  us.  Climbing  the  Alps  is 
nothing  compared  with  the  ascent  of  the  kotals  in  Persia.  The  mule- 
teers know  nothing  of  scenery,  and  do  not  even  know  the  names  of  vil- 
lages only  a  half  a  mile  from  the  beaten  path.  But  they  do  know  that 
delays  cause  great  annoyance,  and  they  keep  you  constantly  at  the  best 
speed  you  are  capable  of  making,  lest  some  descending  caravan  meet 
you  and  confusion  ensue.  One  of  the  mules,  upon  which  was  loaded 
Mrs.  Mcllrath's  bicycle,  backed  into  a  huge  boulder  which  jutted  into 
the  road,  breaking  the  fork  and  rendering  it  unfit  for  use.    Friday,  Nov. 


112  AROtLND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

19,  the  road  into  Shiraz,  began  to  take  on  a  fairly  smooth  appearance, 
whereat  I  lost  no  time  in  oiling  up  my  bike.  As  I  prepared  for  a  stiff 
run  into  Shiraz,  Mrs.  Mellrath,  contemplated  her  damaged  machine, 
and  expressed  a  wish  that  the  mule  had  died  the  day  before  she  en- 
trusted her  wheel  to  his  care.  Two  miles  of  fairly  level  road  enabled 
me  to  distance  the  horde  of  rough  riders.  Caravan  after  caravan  my 
cycle  passed,  not  pausing  until  I  whizzed  down  the  main  street  of 
Shiran,  arriving  three  hours  ahead  of  my  party. 

A  native  mechanic  repaired  Mrs.  Mcllrath's  wheel,  though  it  took 
him  eight  days  to  do  so,  giving  us  ample  time  to  make  friends  in  the 
city.  One  would  be  difficult  to  please  who  .could  not  enjoy  life  in 
Shiraz.  Dr.  Sculley  and  Mr.  Wood,  superintendent  of  telegraphs,  alter- 
nated in  dinners;  Mr.  Yon  Rijkon,  an  adopted  American,  entertained  us 
at  lunch,  and  in  each  European  home  we  sipped  afternoon  tea,  were 
entertained  with  music  and  listened  to  delightful  little  stories  of  Per- 
sian life.  With  friends  we  made  several  excursions  about  the  city, 
bartering  in  the  bazaars,  visiting  the  places  of  interest  and  calling  upon 
Persians  of  high  rank.  Our  sight  seeing  in  Shiraz  was  ended  on 
Wednesday,  Dec.  1,  when  we  departed  for  the  north.  Our  cyclometer 
revealed  that  we  covered  twenty-three  miles  by  dusk  over  sandy  roads 
and  in  the  face  of  strong  winds,  the  first  day  out  from  Shiraz.  At 
Zerghun  we  halted  for  the  night,  and  were  up  and  away  before  day- 
break the  next  morning.  By  10  o'clock  we  could  see  outlined  against  the 
blue  mountains  to  the  north,  a  village  which  we  knew  to  be  Kinorah,  a 
small,  harmless  little  settlement,  where  we  had  been  advised  to  seek 
accommodations.  The  ruins  of  Persepolis  are  near  by,  and  wishing  to 
visit  the  grandest  monument  of  a  kingly  ruler's  power  that  the  modern 
world  knows,  we  wheeled  into  Kinorah,  where  we  were  the  guests  of 
the  Rev.  W.  A.  Rice. 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  OX  WHEELS.  113 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

AT  THE  RUINS  OP  PERSEPOLIS — AN  AUTOGRAPH  ON  THE  PORCH  OP  XERXES — 
LOST  IN  A  SNOWSTORM  AND  MRS.  MCILRATH'S  FEET  FROZEN. 

Describing  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  city,  a  famous  structure,  or 
even  a  locality,  which,  to  the  modern  world,  is  vaguely  grasped  as  hav- 
ing an  existence,  is  a  task  most  difficult.  Consequently  I  shall  in  no 
manner  attempt  to  enter  detail  in  describing  the  ruins  of  Persepolis. 
Towering  forty-five  feet  above  the  plain  the  grand  platform  extends 
1,500  feet  north  by  south,  and,  far  as  the  excavations  of  explorers  have 
revealed.  SOO  feet  east  and  west.  The  first  of  the  remarkable  remnants 
of  Achsemenian  glory  which  greet  one,  are  the  pieces  which  form  the 
group  known  as  the  Porch  of  Xerxes.  The  portals  are  the  favorite 
background  upon  which  visitors  inscribe  their  names.  I  have  always 
held  such  proceeding  as  vandalism,  and  though  the  names  of  British 
ambassadors,  naval  officers,  and  clergy  deface  the  rock.  I  should  have 
foregone  the  pleasure  of  perpetuating  our  visit,  had  not  my  eye  fallen 
upon  the  following  inscription:  "Stanley,  Xew  York  Herald,  1870." 
Never  for  a  moment  has  an  inhabitant  of  Chicago  allowed  that  New 
York  to  thrust  its  ancient  claim  upon  the  world  as  a  typical  American 
city  without  resentment,  and  immediately  we  chipped  beneath,  "Mcll- 
rath.  Chicago  Inter  Ocean,  1897." 

Our  tour  of  the  ruins  was  thorough,  including  visits  to  the  grand 
hall  of  Xerxes,  the  hall  of  One  Hundred  Columns,  and  the  tombs  of 
Darius  and  Xerxes,  south  of  the  Grand  Platform.  Persepolis,  as  it 
stands  to-day,  is  a  stern  rebuke  to  him  who  styled  himself  "King  of 
Kings"  and  "Ruler  of  the  Rulers  of  the  Universe,"  and  vowed  that  he 
would  build  a  city  that  would  be  the  capital  of  the  world,  and  peopled 
by  all  tribes  until  time  nevermore.  On  Sunday,  Dec.  4,  we  resumed  our 
journey  up  the  hills  toward  Dehbid.  The  roads  were  muddy  and  the 
various  streams  swollen,  and  we  encountered  rainstorms  and  high 
winds,  which  caused  us  to  lose  the  path  and  occasioned  us  much  dis- 
comfort before  we  could  enter  the  town  of  Murghab.  We  found  the 
hotel  crowded  with  passengers,  many  of  whom  had  seen  us  previously. 
There  was  one  Persian  in  the  number  who  evidently  wished  to  speak 
to  me  concerning  Frank  Lenz,  since  he  uttered  the  boy's  name,  pointed 
to  the  bicycle,  and  drew  his  finger  across  his  own  throat  in  a  manner 
suggestive  of  Lenz's  horrible  fate.  Monday,  Dec.  0,  our  journey,  though 
not  extensive,  was  exhaustive;  we  walked  up  grades  too  steep  to  permit 
of  riding,  and  we  walked  down  grades  too  steep  and  rough  to  ride  with 
safety.  Occasionally  we  passed  through  sections  of  country  where 
patches  of  snow  glistened  under  the  shade  of  bushes  and  wild  grass. 
From  Khan-I-Khergan  our  ride  was  a  steady  up-hill  grind  for  several 
miles,  but  ended  when  the  summit  was  gained  by  a  four-mile  dash 
8 


114  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

down-grade  into  the  little  settlement  of  Dehbid.  When  we  left  the  fol- 
lowing morning  we  had  the  wind  at  our  back  and  made  such  excel- 
lent time  that  we  entered  the  dreaded  Koli-kush  before  we  realized  it. 
We  experienced  no  difficulty  in  the  pass,  riding  down  the  opposite  side 
as  easily  as  we  had  ascended  the  southern  approach.  There  is  little  to 
tell  of  our  ride  into  Surmek,  except  that  we  made  it  at  the  rate  of 
fifteen  miles  an  hour.  The  scenery  in  the  background  was  rugged  and 
outlined  against  the  clear  blue  sky  was  beautiful.  The  high  fever 
which  Mrs.  Mcllrath  developed  in  consequence  of  a  drenching,  caused 
the  loss  of  a  day  in  Abadeh,  but  it  gave  me  an  opportunity  of  visiting 
the  bazaars  and  inspecting  the  marvelous  work  done  by  the  wood- 
carvers.  We  cycled  from  the  telegraph  station  on  Dec.  11,  bound  for 
Maksuddeg,  seventy-one  miles  north.  We  found  the  roads  in  passable 
condition  and  were  escorted  for  eight  or  ten  miles  by  a  Mr.  Stevens, 
who  is  connected  with  the  telegraph  company,  and  the  solitary  cyclist 
of  Central  Persia.  Passing  through  the  cities  of  Shulgistan  and  Yezblk- 
hast,  we  should  have  made  Maksudbeg  early  in  the  afternoon,  but  I  dis- 
covered three  large  lacerations  in  my  rear  tire,  which  prevented  fast 
riding. 

The  "Khaneh"  at  Maksudbeg  was  well  filled  the  night  of  our  ar- 
rival, but  until  our  baggage  train  and  interpreter  arrived  we  lacked  for 
nothing.  We  left  Maksudbeg  early  the  next  morning,  whirling  at  a 
rapid  rate  to  Marg,  where  we  stopped  for  the  night.  On  Tuesday,  Dec. 
14,  when  we  again  set  out  for  Julfa,  we  completed  within  thirteen  miles 
the  second  of  the  three  long  stages  into  Teheran.  Though  many  Per- 
sians reside  in  Julfa,  the  town  is  typically  Armenian.  The  same  high 
walls  that  are  so  general  in  Persian  cities,  face  each  street,  but  the 
buildings  inside  are  Armenian,  the  inscriptions  over  the  doors  are  in 
Armenian  characters,  and  the  majority  of  the  people  seen  on  the 
street  are  Armenians.  The  Armenian  men  are  a  type  in  themselves. 
They  appear  dirtier  than  the  Persian,  and  if  circumstances  permit,  they 
affect  European  clothes  and  get  beastly  drunk.  In  occupation,  the 
Armenian  finds  himself  adapted  to  any  business  or  trade  and  in  g?neral 
transactions  is  a  fluent  liar  and  barefaced  cheat.  There  are  few  good 
Armenians,  but  there  are  those  who  have  received  a  liberal  education, 
or  have  been  taken  in  hand  by  kindly  people  and  brought  up  to  Christian 
and  civilized  ideas.  The  other  good  Armenians  are  like  the  good  Amer- 
ican Indians— they  are  deceased  Armenians.  At  Ispahan  we  were  the 
guests  of  Bishop  Stuart,  of  the  Church  of  England  Mission.  Ispa- 
han is  just  across  the  Landah  River  from  .Tulfa,  and  is  not  so  void  of 
features.  Having  visited,  at  his  palace,  His  Royal  Highness,  the  Zil-I 
Sultan  of  Persia,  the  Armenian  Cathedral,  and  the  brass  working 
bazaar  of  Ispahan,  we  departed  for  the  North  on  Saturday,  Dec.  19. 


rf 


p. 


116  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

We  had  a  long,  hard  ride  over  ravines  strewn  with  rocks,  to  the  city  of 
Soh,  where  we  were  the  guests  of  Mr.  Newey,  an  intimate  friend  of 
Mr.  Christmas,  whom  we  met  in  Bushire.  Snow  began  to  fall  on 
Dec.  22,  and  our  entertainer  refused  positively  to  allow  us  to  proceed. 
The  storm  did  not  cease  until  the  following  morning,  when,  despite  the 
protests  of  Mr.  Newey,  we  set  out  for  the  village  of  Khurud,  twenty- 
five  miles  away,  and  a  most  disastrous  trip  it  proved  to  be.  We  ex- 
pected to  cover  the  distance  to  Khurud  by  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,, 
but  when  that  hour  arrived  our  cyclometers  registered  but  eight 
miles,  and  we  were  worn  out  and  almost  unable  to  proceed  farther. 
We  had  prepared  for  the  trip  by  putting  on  extra  sweaters  and  incas- 
ing our  legs  in  heavy  woolen  leggings,  such  as  are  worn  by  native 
travelers,  but  we  found,  after  a  mile  or  so  on  the  road,  that  the  most 
discomfort  we  suffered  was  with  our  hands  and  feet.  Beneath  the 
snow  were  many  pools  of  water,  and  into  these  we  floundered,  wetting 
ourselves  to  the  knees  and  our  bicycles  to  the  hubs. 

As  a  wild, , precipitous  descent  lay  between  us  and  the  village,  and 
as  nightfall  was  fast  approaching,  Mrs.  Mcllrath  suggested  that  I  leave 
her  and  the  machine  in  the  first  gorge  which  afforded  any  shelter,  and 
then  hurry  forward,  find  the  village  and  send  back  men  and  horses  for 
herself  and  the  wheels.  I  did  not  entertain  the  thought  for  a  moment, 
for  I  was  too  deeply  impressed  with  the  trying  situation,  though  I  did 
not  let  her  know  of  our  danger.  For  a  time  I  succeeded  in  buoying  up 
her  spirits,  but  as  we  slowly  plodded  through  canyon  after  canyon,  the 
winds  ever  growing  colder  and  the  sun  sinking  from  sight,  Mrs.  Mcll- 
rath refused  to  be  comforted  and  grew  weaker  and  more  erratic  in  her 
movements.  The  effect  of  the  high,  rare  air,  the  terrible  mental  strain 
and  the  enormous  muscular  exertion  were  the  greatest  test  to  which  I 
have  ever  been  put.  It  was  necessary  that  we  keep  moving,  and  with 
such  an  object  in  view  I  whistled  and  sang,  and  finally  scolded  Mrs. 
Mcllrath  in  language  most  harsh.  It  would  have  been  cowardly  to 
have  been  unkind  toward  my  wife  under  such  circumstances  had  not 
the  occasion  demanded,  and  the  cross  words  intended  to  assist  in 
working  out  our  salvation.  Th?re  was  no  time  or  thought  to  be  wasted, 
and  I  used  every  means  to  urge  her  onward.  Cruel  as  it  may  seem  to 
those  who  do  not  know  the  dire  result  of  faking  exhausted  in  the  snow, 
I  looked  about  for  something  with  which  to  flcg  my  wife  did  she  refuse 
to  proceed,  and  had  decided  to  use  the  heavy  leather  belt  which  encircled 
my  waist.  I  shouted  to  her  constantly  to  keep  her  toes  moving,  and  to 
bend  her  feet  as  much  as  possible.  For  two  hours  we  floundered  on, 
and  I  was  then  forced  to  pile  the  machines  together  in  a  conspicuous 
place,  which  could  afterward  be  found,  and  leaving  them,  push  on 
unhampered.      Up  the  canyon  we  plunged,  every  step  an  agony  and 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS.  117 

every  hundred  yards  a  mile  to  our  tortured  minds.  I  kept  my  wife  in 
front,  dreading  lest  she  should  fall  and  succumb  to  the  dreadful  fatigue 
which  ends  in  death. 

So  absorbed  was  I  in  her  safety,  that  I  lost  track  of  the  tele- 
graph poles,  and  was  suddenly  confronted  with  the  realization  thai  we 
were  lost  on  the  very  peak  of  the  mountain.  My  medicine  ease  con- 
tained no  liquors  or  stimulants,  and  we  had  not  tasted  food  since  7 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  There  were  but  two  chances  for  our  lives. 
Our  interpreter  had  gone  on  ahead  with  his  horse  and  our  luggage.  He 
might  send  out  a  rescue  party  for  us.  The  second  chance  was  a  more 
forlorn  one.  At  9  o'clock  each  evening  the  telegraph  line  between 
Bushire  and  Teheran  is  tested,  and  if  communication  is  broken,  the 
officer  on  each  side  of  the  break  will  send  out  men  for  an  immediate 
repair.  It  lacked  a  full  half  hour  to  the  testing  time,  and  I  determined 
to  wait  fifteen  minutes  and  then  if  help  did  not  arrive,  climb  the  pole, 
shoot  the  insulators  from  the  arms,  and  break  each  and  every  wire.  The 
fifteen  minutes  passed  and  I  was  in  search  of  the  telegraph  pole,  with 
but  ten  minutes  to  interrupt  the  "test."  In  the  gloom  I  perceived  a 
number  of  dark  figures,  which  I  took  to  be  wolves.  As  they  came 
nearer  they  developed  into  men  and  horses,  and  from  the  cheery  man- 
ner in  which  the  riders  greeted  us  we  knew  that  the  interpreter  had 
not  forgotten  us,  and  had  sent  to  our  rescue. 

It  would  have  been  Mrs.  Mellrath's  duty  as  a  woman  to  have  fainted 
when  the  horses  arrived,  but  she  did  nothing  of  the  kind.  She  thanked 
God,  as  I  did,  and  when  placet!  in  the  saddle,  wrapped  herself  in 
blankets  and  ordered  the  men  to  "hurry  up"  just  as  if  we  had  been  wait- 
ing for  them  by  appointment.  Slowly  we  descended  the  tortuous  path, 
the  intelligent  horses  leading  the  men  until  the  right  road  was  re- 
gained. I  called  to  my  wife  to  ascertain  her  condition,  and  she  assured 
me  that  her  feet  no  longer  pained,  but  were  "warm  and  comfortable." 
Two  hours  later,  when  we  halted  at  the  Chapar  Khaneh,  my  wife 
cried  to  me  piteously  that  she  could  not  walk,  and  I  knew  only  too  well 
why  her  feet  had  been  "warm  and  comfortable."  We  carried  her  into 
the  dim-lighted  post-room  and  cut  the  leggings  from  her  limbs.  The 
shoes  were  ice-covered  and  stiff.  The  blackness  of  her  stockings  ended 
at  the  ankles,  and  the  foot  casings  were  white  frost.  My  instructions 
to  the  men  were  to  rub  her  feet  with  snow,  until  each  toe  showed  its 
natural  ruddy  glow  to  a  candle  light  held  behind  it.  For  two  hours 
they  kept  up  a  vigorous  massage,  and  then  when  the  power  of  motion 
was  restored  and  swelling  was  noticeable,  I  was  content  to  leave  the 
rest  to  nature.  Two  men  on  horses  went  up  the  slopes  of  the  moun- 
tain next  day  and  brought  in  the  cycles.  The  cyclometer  was  frozen 
so  tightly  that  at  the  first  revolution  of  the  wheel  it  had  broken  off. 


118  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

Otherwise  the  machines  were  unharmed.  It  was  absolutely  necessary 
that  we  reach  a  point  which  would  afford  communication  with  the 
nearest  surgeon,  and  on  Friday  we  wrapped  Mrs.  Mcllrath  in  blankets 
and  placed  her  upon  a  horse,  our  destination  being  Kasham,  a  telegraph 
station.  We  were  in  the  saddle  ten  hours  before  we  sighted  the  city. 
The  telegraph  operator  was  an  Armenian,  drunk  as  he  could  be.  and 
after  questioning  me  as  to  my  ability  to  speak  and  understand  English, 
he  permitted  us  to  occupy  the  waiting  room. 

I  sent  in  haste  a  message  to  Dr.  Wishard,  superintendent  of  the 
American  Presbyterian  Mission  at  Teheran,  informing  him  that  my 
wife's  feet  were  frozen.  He  .replied  that  he  would  do  all  he  could, 
coming  himself  or  sending  medicines  as  we  pleased. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

THE   M08T   MISERABLE     OP    ALL    CHRISTMAS    DAYS — RACE    BETWEEN   WHEEL 
AND   SULTAN'S   CAVALRYMEN — DESERTED   BY   A  COWARDLY  DRIVER. 

We  lingered  three  days  at  Kashan  before  the  preliminary  treat- 
ment of  my  wife's  feet  permitted  us  to  proceed.  Here  we  spent  our 
Christmas  Day,  dejected  and  home-sick.  In  vain  we  searched  the 
bazaars  for  a  turkey,  goose,  or  duck  for  our  Christmas  dinner,  but  as  if 
to  recompense  us  for  our  earnest  efforts  to  celebrate,  a  ragged  coolie 
brought  us  a  rabbit,  and  with  turnips  in  lieu  of  sweet  potatoes,  we 
endeavored  to  deceive  ourselves  into  believing  we  had  enjoyed  a  good 
old-fashioned  Southern  feast.  We  left  Kashan  in  the  native  "khagvar," 
two  shallow  boxes  placed  on  a  mule's  back,  the  boxes  laden  equally  to 
balance  the  load  on  either  side.  We  placed  Mrs.  Mcllrath  on  one  side, 
her  bicycle,  luggage  case  and  bedding  in  the  opposite  box,  and  on 
Tuesday,  Dec.  28,  resumed  our  journey.  The  first  night  of  our  stop  on 
the  way  to  Room  the  owner  of  the  khadgavar  refused  to  continue  on 
the  journey  without  an  increase  to  the  contract  price  for  the  rent  of 
his  mule.  Mrs.  Mcllrath's  condition  would  not  admit  of  a  delay,  and 
I  was  compelled  to  resort  to  the  extreme  measures  used  in  China  in 
such  a  case,  and  with  success,  for  within  ten  minutes  we  were  again 
on  the  road.  While  stopping  at  a  tea  house  for  refreshments  on  Dec. 
29,  our  little  caravan  was  overtaken  by  three  of  the  Sultan's  cavalry- 
men. They  were  inclined  to  twit  us  on  the  effort  required  to  propel 
bicycles,  and  I  challenged  them  for  a  race.  Although  Mrs.  Mcllrath 
required  my  attention  hourly,  she  entertains  such  contempt  for  those 
who  despise  cycling,  that  it  was  at  her  request  that  I  left  her  behind 
to  engage  in  the  test  of  speed  with  the  horse-soldiers.  I  left  the  three 
troopers  easily  in  the  rear  after  their  steeds  had  begun  to  show  signs 
of  fatigue,  never  for  an  instant  slackening  my  pace  until  I  flashed  into 


120  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

a  village  eight  miles  from  the  starting  point.  I  had  regained  my  com- 
posure, smoked  several  cigarettes  and  idled  away  half  an  hour  ere  the 
horsemen  appeared  on  the  brow  of  a  hill  one  mile  away.  Though  the 
riders  were  breathless,  their  horses  reeking  with  foam,  when  they 
halted  in  front  of  the  tea  house,  not  a  look  or  a  word  betrayed  their 
chagrin,  and  they  preferred  tea  and  cigarettes  with  good  grace  but 
with  great  dignity.  Not  satisfied  with  the  one  defeat,  the  captain 
demanded  that  I  overtake  him  ere  the  next  stage.  They  had  a  good 
half  hour's  start  of  me,  because  I  waited  for  Mrs.  Mcllrath's  arrival. 
As  soon  as  she  assured  me  of  her  comfortable  condition,  I  sprang  into 
saddle,  and  settled  down  into  a  gait  which  carried  me  nine  miles  into  an 
open  valley,  just  in  time  to  sight  the  three  horsemen  and  the  city  of 
Fasangoon  in  the  distance.  The  horsemen  must  have  sighted  me  as 
soon  as  I  did  them,  for  when  I  next  looked  up  the  trio  had  separated 
and  were  strung  along  the  road  in  Indian  file.  I  strained  every  muscle 
to  the  utmost,  but  the  up-grade,  the  load  of  camera,  revolvers,  luggage 
case  and  monkey  had  been  too  great,  and  I  only  succeeded  in  over- 
taking one  of  the  trio.  The  other  two  had  not  dismounted  when  I 
reached  the  Chapar  Khaneh,  and  were  loud  in  their  greeting  and  praise 
of  the  "asp-i-chubce,"  as  they  called  the  bicycle. 

We  were  up  before  daybreak  Dec.  30,  dismayed  to  find  the  ground 
covered  with  snow,  and  pushed  into  Koom  by  nightfall,  just  in  time  to 
escape  the  most  violent  end  of  a  storm,  which  delayed  us  for  two  days. 
Proceeding  by  caravan  was  out  of  the  question,  and  as  Koom  afforded 
nothing  in  the  medicine  line,  we  were  obliged  to  make  the  remaining 
stage  by  "diligence"  to  Teheran.  Though  the  trip  can  be  accomplished 
with  ease  in  less  than  twenty-four  hours,  the  exorbitant  sum  of  $26 
was  demanded  for  fare.  The  conveyance  which  bears  such  a  high- 
sounding  name  is  simply  a  prairie  schooner,  hauled  by  four  horses 
ranged  abreast.  It  is  a  "terror"  as  a  conveyance,  the  jolts  and  jars 
sending  one  high  into  the  air,  making  conversation  impossible,  while 
the  rattle  of  the  crazy  vehicle  is  like  that  of  volleys  of  musketry.  When 
we  had  accomplished  about  six  miles  the  driver  deliberately  guided 
the  horses  into  a  deep  snow-drift,  informed  us  that  progress  was  im- 
possible, and  threats,  argument  and  persuasion  would  not  induce  him 
to  proceed.  Finding  he  would  not  yield,  we  became  equally  stubborn, 
and  would  not  allow  him  to  return,  as  he  proposed,  until  the  next  day, 
when  he  predicted  the  passage  would  be  more  probable.  Unfortunately 
Mrs.  Mcllrath  and  I  were  weary,  and  while  we  slept  the  cowardly 
driver  cut  the  horses  and  quietly  decamped.  How  long  we  should  have 
remained  in  this  predicament  is  difficult  to  conjecture,  had  not  a  car- 
riage arrived  from  the  north,  containing  as  passengers  Mr.  J.  P. 
Whiton  Stuart,  of  New  York,  and  his  secretary.      Mr.  Stuart  at  once 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS.  121 

volunteered  to  send  for  the  horses  which  had  ahandoned  our  vehicle, 
effect  a  change  of  driver  and  animals  and  thus  help  us  on  our  way. 
This  was  done,  but  not  until  the  afternoon  had  so  far  advanced  that 
only  one  stage  was  accomplished  in  the  entire  day. 

We  passed  a  miserable  night  Jan.  2,  1898,  in  the  stables  of  the  Post 
House  in  Hassinabad.  Getting  an  early  start  we  arrived  at  Kah-rizak. 
twenty-six  miles  north,  in  the  afternoon.  It  was  then  but  a  short  ride  to 
the  mosque  and  shrine  called  "Shah  Abdullah  Azirn,"  where  we  boarded 
a  steam  railway  for  Teheran,  eight  miles  ahead.  We  were  then  in  the 
capital  of  Persia,  snow-bound  and  unable  to  proceed,  even  had  weather 
permitted,  on  account  of  Mrs.  Mcllrath's  feet,  but  thankful,  for  Teheran 
afforded  hospitals  and  surgeons,  and  best  of  all,  American  ones. 

The  city  of  Teheran  has  been  the  imperial  residence  since  Shah  Aga 
Mohammed  Kahn,  founder  of  the  Khajar  dynasty,  which  now  reigns, 
chose  to  elevate  the  insignificant  village  to  a  place  of  royal  abode,  and 
bestowed  upon  it  the  titles,  "City  of  the  Shadow  of  God,"  and  "Foot- 
stool of  the  King  of  Kings."  We  visited  the  magnificent  palace  of  the 
reigning  Shah.  Muzaffaru-ud-din,  and  also  made  a  tour  to  Dashen 
Tappi,  one  of  his  favorite  resorts.  In  this  latter  tour  our  party  con- 
sisted of  Mr.  Black,  Mr.  Morris  and  myself,  three  cyclists;  two  horse- 
men, Messrs.  Warner  and  DeMunk;  and  Misses  DeMunk  and  Warner, 
and  Mrs.  Mcllrath,  entrusted  to  the  care  of  a  Cossack,  who  drove  a  pair 
of  mules  attached  to  a  heavy  Russian  carriage.  Owing  to  the  condition 
of  Mrs.  Mcllrath's  extremities  we  were  unable  to  accept  many  invita- 
tions, but  despite  the  fact,  we  left  Teheran  greatly  indebted  to  the  mem- 
bers of  the  European  Colony  there.  When  we  departed  on  Feb.  25,  it 
was  by  the  carriage,  as  cycling  to  Resht  was  entirely  out  of  the  ques- 
tion, the  roads  being  deep  with  snow  and  the  passes  in  the  mountains 
Ice-bound.  There  is  little  to  write  of  the  journey  in  Persia.  Scenery 
was  either  a  vast  plain,  studded  with  sagebrush,  or  the  panorama  was 
that  of  a  barren,  dull  rock  which  had  neither  rugged  beauty  nor  pic- 
turesque formation.  Three  days  of  this  monotonous  travel  brought 
us  to  Kasbin,  where  we  were  delayed  by  more  wretched  weather  until 
March  C.  More  snow  fell  directly  we  took  to  the  road,  our  path  often 
taking  us  along  the  edge  of  a  precipice  the  entire  slope  of  which,  above 
and  below  us,  was  glaring  ice.  A  slip  or  a  false  step  meant  certain 
death,  and  each  instant  that  an  iron-shod  hoof  grated  and  crushed,  we 
expected  to  hear  a  wild  shriek  and  the  crash  of  a  fatal  fall.  At  one 
point  on  the  journey  we  passed  a  party  of  laborers  at  work  rescuing 
from  the  bottom  of  the  gorge  a  horse  and  rider,  both  stiff  in  death. 
This  was  but  one  of  the  many  horrors  on  the  road  to  Resht,  which  we 
reached  on  March  13.  The  city  affords  two  hotels,  both  conducted  by 
Frenchmen,  and  as  we  inquired  for  the  best,  we  were  directed  to  one 


122  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

designated  as  the  Hotel  Europe.  I  would  recommend  any  reader  con- 
templating a  trip  to  Resht  to  apply  for  lodgings  at  the  other  hotel.  Our 
knowledge  of  the  French  language  was  limited,  but  though  we  had  ab- 
sorbed sufficient  to  enable  us  to  eat  heartily  and  sleep  soundly  in  French, 
we  felt  certain  of  success  at  the  Europe  Hotel.  The  avaricious  design  of 
the  frowsy  proprietor  foiled  us,  howevei',  and  as  his  rates  were  $8  a 
day,  we  made  our  stay  in  the  city  as  short  as  possible. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

CYCLISTS      LAND    IN    RUSSIA — TIFLIS,    "THE    PARIS    OF   THE    CAUCASUS" — IN 
SIGHT   OF   MOUNT   ARARAT — SUICIDE   OF   THE   PET   MONKEY. 

We  left  Resht  Monday,  March  21,  on  board  the  nondescript  steamer 
"B."  There  were  but  two  cabins  afforded  by  the  steamer,  and  to  one 
of  these  Capt.  Ahrninckie  assigned  the  Inter  Ocean  tourists.  The  run 
to  Baku  is  less  than  the  Chicago-Milwaukee  or  Cleveland-Detroit  runs, 
but  owing  to  delays  we  did  not  reach  Baku  until  Thursday,  March  24. 
We  formed  a  number  of  friends  in  the  city,  dinners,  teas  and  drives 
being  of  daily  occurrence.  We  also  attended  the  opern,  but  as  great  as 
was  our  diversion,  we  pined  for  the  days  that  we  should  again  be  in  the 
saddle,  with  our  feet  upon  the  pedal.  Our  Easter  Sunday  of  1S9S  we 
spent  in  Tiflis,  the  quaintest  of  all  Russian  cities.  Tiflis  is  called  the 
"Paris  of  the  Caucasus,"  but  the  real  significance  of  the  name  is  "Hot 
Springs."  Hot  Springs  there  are  at  Tiflis,  not  of  valuable  mineral 
nature,  but  most  grateful  to  the  weary  traveler  who  visits  the  bath- 
houses, and  after  a  thorough  steaming  is  kneaded  into  supple  activity 
by  Persian  attendants.  Here,  of  all  the  cities  on  earth,  I  do  not  know 
of  any  one  which  will  afford  the  visitor  more  varied  and  interesting 
street  scenes.  New  Orleans,  when  in  the  regalia  of  its  annual  Mardi- 
Gras,  is  not  more  picturesque.  It  is  not  only  the  fanciful  appearance 
of  the  street,  but  the  unique  procession  of  pedestrians,  men  of  all 
nations,  that  makes  Tiflis  and  its  streets  appear  like  the  dancing  room 
of  a  bal  masque.  The  Russian  and  the  natives  of  the  Caucasus  are 
more  hospitable  than  any  people  we  ever  met.  Officials  of  the  city 
heaped  upon  us  courtesies  and  seemed  to  enter  into  a  contest  with  each 
other  in  paying  us  attention.  The  last  few  days  of  our  stay  in  Tiflis 
were  unusually  busy.  The  ruined  tires  of  Mrs.  Mcllrath's  bicycle  and 
the  badly  damaged  front  tire  of  my  own  had  to  be  replaced  by  new 
ones,  and  the  best  we  could  make  out  was  to  purchase  inner  tubes  and 
alter  our  old  tires  to  suit  the  available  article.  We  left  Tiflis  on  April 
14,  many  friends  being  present  to  see  us  off.  We  were  all  happy,  even 
Including  Rodney,  the  monkey,  to  be  again  awheel.  I  should  mention 
that  it  was  not  until  after  our  sojourn  in  Tiflis  that  Mrs.  Mellrath  was 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS.  123 

able,  for  the  first  time  since  her  horrible  night  in  the  mountains  of 
Persia,  to  put  her  feet  again  to  the  pedals  of  her  machine.  Lost  twice 
on  the  road,  and  with  many  an  inconvenience  and  delay,  an  account  of 
which  would  be  but  to  go  over  in  part  our  misfortunes  in  other  climes, 
we  arrived  during  the  latter  part  of  April  at  Ahkty,  60  miles  from 
Mount  Ararat,  the  most  famed  mountain  in  the  world's  history,  the 
resting  place  of  the  ark  in  which  Noah  preserved  the  family,  human 
animal,  reptile  and  winged. 

The  day  after  our  arrival  in  Ahkty  was  a  fete  day  in  Russia,  the 
birthday  of  the  Grand  Duke.  The  town  was  rich  in  color  with  the  red, 
blue  and  white  flags,  the  shops  were  closed  and  bands  played  in  the 
park.  Troops  in  dress  uniform  swarmed  the  streets;  women  and  child- 
ren in  holiday  clothes  promenaded  through  the  groves  of  trees  'neath 
the  window  of  our  hotel;  and  above  all, shown  in  glittering, lofty  beauty 
Mount  Ararat,  immaculate  and  cold  as  if,  since  her  duty  done  in  receiv- 
ing the  ship  of  God,  she  had  locked  herself  in  frigid  mail  against 
the  frivolous  people  beneath. 

An  oil-laden  tramp  steamer,  after  three  days  of  wallowing  along  the 
shores  of  Asia  Minor,  placed  us  iu  Constantinople  on  June  0.  We  had 
been  directed  to  several  hotels  in  the  city,  but  as  our  informants  had 
confessed  that  all  were  uniformly  piratical  in  their  practices,  we 
selected  one  directly  opposite  the  American  Consulate.  Galatea,  the 
section  of  the  city  in  which  we  landed,  is  the  water  front  and  wholesale 
commercial  portion  of  the  town,  and  as  we  threaded  our  way  through 
the  crowded  street,  following  closely  the  coolies  who  carried  our 
luggage,  we  had  excellent  opportunity  of  witnessing  the  sights  of  the 
most  interesting  quarter  of  the  great  city.  To  those  who  have  not 
visited  the  interiors  of  China,  India,  Burmah  and  Persia,  Constanti- 
nople may  appear  truly  Oriental,  but  to  the  Inter  Ocean  cyclists  the 
city  presented  anything  but  a  resemblance  to  manners  and  customs 
Eastern.  We  spent  seven  days  in  diligent  search  for  curious  sights, 
and  of  them  all  we  decided  that  the  most  attractive  features  were  the 
Salaarnlik,  or  public  reception  at  prayer  by  the  Sultan;  "the  dogs  of 
Stamboul"  and  Constantinople,  the  fires  and  fire  department,  and  the 
museum  and  the  tomb  of  Alexander.  The  religious  day  of  Mussulmans 
is  Friday,  and  we  were  present  when  Abdul  Hamid,  the  Sultan,  wended 
his  way  to  the  mosque  to  pray.  The  populists  turned  out  to  greet  him, 
and  soldiers  flashed  their  way  through  the  streets;  it  was  a  gala  day 
in  Constantinople.  We  saw  the  face  of  the  Sultan  squarely,  but  it 
did  not  please  us.  If  it  were  possible  for  human  face  to  resemble  a 
hawk,  the  Sultan  of  Turkey  certainly  bore  that  resemblance  to  the 
cruel  bird.  The  eyes  were  glittering,  the  brows  big  and  slauting,  the 
nose  hooked,  and  the  lips  thin  and  compressed.     The  face  was  not 


124  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

one  to  be  forgotten.  Features  do  not  always  bespeak  the  character 
of  a  man,  but,  after  looking  into  the  eyes  of  the  Sultan,  one  could 
readily  understand  how  such  a  man  could  order  the  extermination  of 
the  opposing  sect  of  a  religious  people,  and  calmly  read  the  report 
of  his  subordinates  who  informed  him  that  3,500  of  his  Armenian 
subjects  had  been  slain  in  the  streets  of  Constantinople  and  Stamboul 
in  less  than  thirty-six  hours. 

Fires  are  a  serious  event  in  Constantinople,  much  more  so  than  my 
American  brethren,  in  whose  country  conflagrations  are  daily  affairs, 
can  well  imagine.  The  city,  with  its  sea  breeze,  the  hills  and  valleys 
as  a  flue,  and  with  houses  of  wood,  and  streets  so  narrow  that  flames 
overreach,  a  fire,  with  ordinary  start,  has  an  advantage  which  only 
exhaustion  and  skill  will  overcome.  As  we  saw  for  ourselves,  "exhaus- 
tion" is  the  only  method  of  the  Constantinople  firemen.  There  is  so 
much  ceremony  about  going  to  a  fire  that  the  chief  and  his  men 
are  well  nigh  put  out  by  fatigue  before  the  blaze  is  extinguished. 
When  I  say  extinguished,  I  mean  before  the  fire  burns  itself  out. 
It  is  prevented  only  from  being  a  conflagration  by  the  fact  that  those 
members  of  the  department  not  laid  out  for  want  of  breath,  and 
assisted  by  zealous  fitizers,  grab  long  poles  and  push  and  pull  down 
the  adjacent  buildings.  "The;  dogs  of  Stamboui"  are  numbered  by 
the  thousands.  They  are  quiet  and  well  behaved,  do  not  bark  at 
wagons  and  pedestrians,  and  sleep  on  the  sidewalk,  in  the  gutter  and 
in  the  middle  of  the  street.  They  are  the  scavengers  of  the  city, 
and  woe  to  the  man  who  abuses  them.  Sleeping  by  day,  they  wake 
into  activity  as  night  advances  and  the  shops  ciose.  Meat  markets, 
restaurants,  bakeries,  private  residences  and  hotels  throw  the  leavings 
from  counter  and  table  into  the  gutters,  and  the  dogs  "do  the  rest." 

I  must  record,  while  in  Constantinople,  the  untimely  death  of 
Rodney,  the  monkey.  The  following  quotation  appearod  in  the  Servet 
of  Constantinople,  and  is  a  fair  example,  at  the  same  time,  of  a 
Turkish  newspaper  joke:  "Suicide  at  the  Maison  Tokatlian  —  Effendi 
Mcllrath,  an  American  journalist,  who  is  resting  at  the  Maison 
Tokatlian,  is  completing  a  remarkable  journey  through  the  interior  of 
Asia  and  Europe,  using  bicycles  to  transport  himself  and  wife.  The 
sights  of  Constantinople  have  proven  so  attractive  that  the  gentleman 
has  had  little  time  to  devote  to  a  pet  monkey,  which  has  been  his 
companion  for  several  thousand  miles.  After  sunset  of  the  past  day 
the  monkey  was  left  alone  in  the  gentleman's  room,  and  upon  returning 
from  dinner  the  master  found  the  animal  hanging  by  his  neck  from 
the  window  sash.  As  no  papers  were  left  and  no  warning  given,  jeal- 
ousy is  ascribed  as  the  cause,  but  the  police  will  investigate." 

I  do  not  know  that  jealousy  was  the  cause  of  the  little  fellow's 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS.  125 

self-inflicted  end,  but  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  the  desire  to  reach 
some  strawberries  which  lay  upon  the  table  near  him,  the  twisting 
of  the  strap  on  his  neck,  and  the  consequent  choking,  had  more  to 
do  with  the  ending  of  Rodney's  erratic  career. 

We  departed  for  Constantza,  Roumania,  Saturday,  June  IS,  on  one 
of  the  coasting  steamers  carrying  mail  and  passengers  to  the  Oriental 
express,  bound  for  Taris  via  Buda-resth  and  Vienna.  I  would  not 
attempt  to  fix  the  date  when  Roumania  was  populated,  but  during 
the  ages  when  Romans  required  visitors  to  do  as  Romans  did,  the 
toga-clad  nation  utilized  Roumania  as  a  sort  of  ancient  Australia,  a 
dumping-ground  for  incorrigible  criminals.  Some  of  the  hotel  and 
restaurant  keepers  in  Roumania  at  the  present  day  should  be  able  to 
trace  their  ancestry  without  trouble.  The  traits  of  the  pioneers  are 
still  exhibited.  Constantza  is  pretty;  it  is  one  of  those  white,  clean 
little  places  which  only  exist  on  the  sea  fronts  where  coal  dust,  soot 
and  factories  and  black  dust  is  unknown.  It  is  called  the  "Brighton 
of  Roumania,"  but  since  the  water  off  Long  Island  is  just  as  salt,  and 
the  hotel  prices  almost  as  exorbitant,  the  name  might  be  improved  on. 

We  selected  the  Hotel  Union  in  Bucharest  as  our  stopping  place, 
but  scarcely  had  we  entered  the  corridors  one  evening  than  a  crowd 
hemmed  us  in  and  began  the  usual  catechism  in  the  three  popular 
languages,  French,  German  and  Roumanian.  Though  I  managed  to 
slip  Mrs.  Mcllrath  through  the  crowd  and  up  to  her  chamber,  I  was 
unable  to  leave  the  throng  until  two  hours  later.  The  next  day  we 
were  visited  by  the  various  members  of  the  "Clubul  Ciclistilar  Buchar- 
est," which  means  Bucharest's  Cycling  Club,  and,  after  luncheon  with 
some  of  the  English-speaking  members,  we  were  made  honorary  mem- 
bers of  the  organization.  Principally  Germans,  the  club  is  a  jolly  set. 
They  were  our  guides,  companions  and  entertainers  during  our  sojourn 
in  the  city.  They  sent  flowers  to  Mrs.  Mcllrath,  dined  us,  invited  us 
to  their  meetings,  and  presented  us  with  souvenirs  of  the  occasion. 
We  fared  well  in  the  city,  and  our  ride  over  the  miserable  roads  was 
the  chief  topic  in  cycling  circles.  It  is  inconceivable  to  me  why  a  coun- 
try so  intensely  interesting  as  Roumania,  a  city  so  wickedly  fascinating 
and  beautiful  as  Bucharest,  should  be  so  little  frequented  by  travelers. 
Taris,  with  all  its  world-wide  reputation  as  a  city  of  gold-plated  vice, 
cannot  compare  with  the  more  obscure  Bucharest.  Lovers  of  beautiful 
architecture  will  find  in  the  palaces,  museum  and  academy  all  that 
they  desire;  admirers  of  glittering  uniforms  and  lovely  women  will 
be  able  to  feast  their  eyes  each  evening,  when  all  the  capital  turns 
out  in  dress  parade  on  the  beautiful  boulevarde;  artists  will  find  quaint 
characters,  costumes,  landscapes  and  romantic  homes,  and  the  novelist 
of  Zolaism  will  be  able  to  weave  plots  of  realism  that  will  horrify 


126  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

the  morals  and  titilate  the  perverted  palate  of  the  sensation-loving  gour- 
mand. As  a  kingdom,  Roumania  enjoys  liberties  which  are  not  to  be 
equaled  in  any  republic  extant.  The  press  is  free  to  the  extent  that 
monarch  and  private  character,  private  history  and  personal  charac- 
teristics are  not  exempt  from  type.  Were  American  editors  to  write 
as  do  their  Roumanian  brothers,  the  vocation  would  be  one  excluded 
from  the  lists  of  acceptable  risks  of  life  insurance  companies.  Rains 
delayed  our  departure  from  Bucharest  until  Sunday,  July  2G.  We 
were  escorted  on  our  start  from  the  city,  at  1  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, by  Messrs.  Furth  and  Jensen,  two  of  the  most  hardy  road  riders 
of  the  Bucharest  Cycling  Club,  and  we  whirled  off  thirty-one  kilometers 
ere  we  entered  Ploesti,  the  half-way  fctop. 


CHAPTER   XXY. 


ROUMANIA   A  PARADISE   FOR   CYCLISTS — DELIGHTFUL     RIDING   INTO    AUSTRO- 
HUNGART — VIENNA  ACCORDS  A  SPLENDID  RECEPTION  TO  THE  TOURISTS 

A  curious  and  confusing  method  of  road  measurement  exists  in 
Roumania,  by  which  many  cyclists  are  led  to  believe  distances  are  far 
less  than  is  really  the  case.  If  the  orficial  distance  from  village  A  to  E 
is  given  as  100  kilometers,  that  sum  does  not  include  the  distance 
inside  the  boundaries  of  villages  B,  C  and  D.  Thus  a  day's  run  through 
a  dozen  straggling  settlements  involves  riding  a  total  of  80  kilometers 
more  than  maps  and  road  posts  indicate.  We  found  this  difficulty  to 
exist  on  our  first  day's  run  from  Bucharest.  When  we  reached  Siniai 
the  total  mileage  indicated  was  82,  yet  we  had  six  kilometers  to  travel 
ere  we  halted  at  the  hotel  in  the  center  of  the  town.  Siniai  is  not  a 
city  of  trade  and  industry.  It  is  a  mountain  summer  resort,  made 
popular  twelve  years  ago  by  an  eccentric  Roumanian  prince,  and  per- 
petuated by  Carol  I.,  King  of  Roumania,  who  selected  the  enchanting 
hills  as  the  royal  summer  palace.  The  palace  is  called  Pelesu  Castle, 
and,  as  the  English-speaking  proprietor  of  our  hotel  told  us  that  visitors 
were  freely  admitted,  we  pressed  him  into  service  as  guide,  and  made 
a  visit  to  the  abode  of  royalty.  We  discovered  His  Majesty  on  a 
terrace  in  front  of  the  castle,  playing  with  two  chubby  children.  I  was 
fearful  lest  he  see  us  and  regard  our  presence  as  an  intrusion,  but 
assured  by  our  guide  that  the  monarch  was  not  in  the  least  sensitive 
about  strangers,  we  passed  toward  the  distinguished  group.  As  we 
neared  the  king  he  stood  erect,  and  looked  at  us  intently,  and  as  he 
raised  one  finger  to  salute  by  touching  the  side  of  his  military  cap,  he 
spoke  clearly,  "Guten  morgen."  The  little  prince  straightened  up, 
brought  his  boot  heels  together  so  that  the  bare  calves  of  his  fat  legs 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  OX  WHEELS.  127 

touched,  and,  imitating  the  sovereign,  he  piped,  "Guteii  morgen."    The 
king  had  mistaken  us  for  Germans,  h:s  own  nationality. 

When  we  departed  from  Siniai  we  left  behind  us  one  of  the  most 
romantic  and  beautiful  of  cities.  Our  route  was  slightly  up-hill  for 
the  first  twenty-live  kilometers,  but  with  excellent  roads,  cool  air 
and  frequent  shade  we  did  not  feel  any  discomfort  and  rode  rapidly. 
It  is  tantalizing  to  other  cyclists  and  tourists  for  one  to  write  of 
elegant  roadways,  delightful  scenery  and  charmiug  little  roadside 
inns,  when  the  location  is  so  unavailable  as  Eastern  Europe  is  to 
American  cyclists,  but  it  would  be  an  act  of  injustice  to  Roumania 
were  we  not  to  admit  it  the  most  beautiful  of  countries,  and  the 
northern  section  the  most  perfect  of  cycling  routes.  Where  the  valleys 
narrow  into  a  pass,  the  road,  cut  into  the  side  of  rocks,  is  shaded  by 
overhanging  cliffs,  and  at  short  intervals  are  situated  moss-covered 
wooden  troughs,  through  which  trickle  ice  water,  clear  as  only  snow 
water  can  be  when  percolated  through  porous  rock.  We  were  rudely 
disturbed  in  our  survey  of  entrancing  scenery  one  bright  morning 
by  a  soldier  standing  guard  at  a  small  house  by  the  roadside.  We 
were  at  Predeal,  the  border  line  between  Roumania  and  Austria- 
Hungary.  Mr.  Boxshall,  the  American  vice-consul  at  Bucharest,  had 
given  us  letters  from  the  Austro-IIungarian  consul  at  Bucharest,  and 
this,  with  my  muchly-indorsed  passport,  made  an  important  looking 
package  document  which  I  had  handed  two  officers  in  the  examining 
room  of  the  outpost.  After  a  careful  perusual  of  the  papers,  they 
respectfully  declined  to  inspect  our  luggage  and  permitted  us  to  pass 
into  Hungary  territory.  Tomasu,  an  Austro-IIungarian  customs  house, 
was  five  miles  north,  and  as  we  did  not  expect  further  formality  until 
reaching  that  point,  we  set  out  at  a  lively  pace  as  soon  as  our  papers 
had  been  returned.  We  had  proceeded  scarcely  a  hundred  yards  ere 
a  trooper  in  uniform  stepped  from  a  sentry-box  and  commanded  us 
to  halt.  As  he  possessed  a  rifle  and  a  business-like  expression,  wo 
checked  up  immediately.  An  officer  now  appeared  and  demanded  re- 
ceipts for  sixty  florins,  which  should  have  been  paid  on  our  bicycles 
as  revenue  bond.  The  sixty  florins,  he  explained,  would  be  returned 
to  us  on  our  departure  from  Austrian  territory,  but  as  our  entire 
finances  did  not  greatly  exceed  that  sum,  we  endeavored  to  appease 
the  demands  of  the  revenue  department  by  a  display  of  papers.  The 
official  after  questioning  us  regarding  our  trip,  became  gracious,  and 
returning  our  papers,  motioned  us  to  go  ahead  without  further  annoy- 
ance. Having  successfully  run  the  gauntlet  on  two  occasions,  the  task 
at  Tomasu  was  comparatively  easy— in  fact  a  pleasure— the  officials 
endorsing  our  papers,  inviting  us  to  luncheon  and  providing  us  with 
maps.    Leaving  Tomasu,  the  grade  was  in  our  favor,  and  late  in  the 


128  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

afternoon  we  halted  at  the  village  inn  at  Persani.  Stepping  inside  to 
quench  our  thirst,  two  men  wbo  had  taken  an  unusual  interest  in  our 
bicycles  and  selves  drew  near  to  listen  to  our  conversation.  One 
chap  had  an  enormous  revolver,  and  as  the  other  stood  with  feet 
far  apart,  he  thrust  his  hands  under  the  tails  of  his  smock.  There 
was  something  familiar  in  the  attitude,  and  I  could  not  but  exclaim 
to  my  wife,  "I  will  bet  a  hundred  dollars  that  chap  has  hip  pockets 
in  his  trousers,  and  if  he  has,  he  has  been  in  America."  The  word 
America  settled  all  doubt.  The  pair  advanced  and  declared  themselves. 
In  typical  "contract  labor"  dialect.  I  was  addressed  as  "Boss,"  in- 
formed that  America  was  "bully,"  and  that  they  had  "built"  a  rail- 
road at  Salem,  Ohio,  and  had  brought  home  hip  pockets  filled  with 
big  guns  and  American  money.  They  insisted  upon  buying  us  beer 
in  true  American  style,  and  as  they  departed  with  a  low  bow,  they 
looked  at  the  common  herd  of  un traveled  with  haughty  air. 

We  endured  slight  showers  during  the  afternoon  of  June  29,  which 
proved  our  undoing  for  a  century-  run.  After  a  hard  fall  on  one  of 
the  slippery  hills,  I  limped  into  Fetorfalva,  85  miles  away  from  our 
starting  point  at  midnight,  the  front  fork  of  my  wheel  badly  bent,  and 
the  grips  broken  from  the  handle-bars.  A  half-drunken  blacksmith, 
whom  I  found  in  the  village  the  next  morning,  made  an  aggravating 
botch  of  the  repair,  but  it  lasted  to  Muhlenbach,  eighteen  miles 
distant,  where  a  cyclist  kindly  escorted  me  to  a  repair  shop.  The 
foreman  of  the  shop  had  read  of  the  Inter  Ocean  tourists,  and  promised 
us  a  permanent  repair.  He  kept  his  word,  and  we  again  started 
on  our  journey  at  6  in  the  evening.  Twenty  miles  out  of  Muhlenbach 
a  storm  broke  upon  us  and  for  two  hours  no  cyclists  ever  had  such 
hard  riding,  unless,  of  course,  it  be  up  the  snowclad  mountains  of 
Persia.  We  eventually  found  a  wine  house  on  the  roadside,  to  which 
we  were  admitted,  but  informed  that  we  could  not  be  permitted  to 
pass  the  night  there.  We  flatly  refused  to  go,  and  when  the  fat 
wife  of  the  proprietor  realized  that  we  meant  just  what  we  said, 
she  brought  in  straw  and  arranged  a  bed  for  us,  where  we  slept 
until  daylight.  At  Eroos,  where  we  stopped  for  breakfast,  a  jolly 
young  fellow  introduced  himself  to  us  as  Erlich  Janos,  captain  of  the 
local  wheel  club,  a  pilot  of  Thomas  Stevens,  American  World's  cyclist 
of  '85,  and  an  admirer  of  the  Inter  Ocean  tourists.  Erlich  Janos, 
or,  as  we  should  call  him,  John  Erlich,  had  maps  of  a  territory  through 
which  we  would  travel,  and  he  asked  permission  to  accompany  us 
on  part  of  the  run.  We  were  delighted  to  have  him,  and  our  admira- 
tion for  him  was  doubled  when  he  appeared  in  modern  wheeling 
costume  in  the  seat  of  one  of  the  latest  made  machines.  We  covered 
thirty  miles  before  halting  for  luncheon,  and  the  good-natured  cyclist 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS.  129 

continued  with  us  as  far  as  a  fork  in  the  road  ten  miles  from  Dobra. 
July  4  was  spent  on  a  lovely  stretch  of  road,  whirling  toward  Buda- 
Pesth.  Heavy  rains  made  the  road  almost  impassable  on  July  5,  but 
we  foolishly  attempted  to  press  on  and  reach  Kecskemet  by  10  o'clock 
that  night.  When  about  eighteen  miles  from  our  destination.  I  was 
blinded  by  a  flash  of  lightning,  and  the  uext  moment  pitched  over  a 
steep  embankment.  My  damaged  front  fork  was  once  more  broken, 
and  my  leg  seriously  wrenched.  The  situation  was  anything  but 
pleasant,  and  how  Ave  ever  reached  Kecskemet  carrying  the  broken 
wheel  and  feeling  our  May  in  the  darkness,  remains  this  day  a  source 
of  wonder  to  ourselves.  We  arrived  in  the  city  just  in  time  to  catch 
the  mail  train  into  Buda-Pesth.  fifty-one  miles  north,  where  our 
wheels  were  repaired  and  our  broken  journey  once  more  picked  up. 

Though  our  arrival  in  the  city  was  unannounced  and  detracted 
from  by  entrance  on  the  conventional  railway,  the  Buda-Pesth  cyclists 
immediately  accepted  us  as  wandering  members  of  a  vast  fraternity. 
Mr.  Emil  Philopivich,  Mr.  Otto  Blathy  and  Mr.  Joseph  Erlich  were 
active  in  our  behalf,  and  if  we  do  not  know  the  principal  sights 
of  the  Hungarian  capital,  the  error  is  not  with  them.  When  we  left 
Buda-Pestli  on  July  17,  with  Messrs.  Erlich  and  Philopivich  as  pace- 
makers, we  had  in  trail  many  cyclists  journeying  from  Buda-Pesth 
to  Vienna.  Assisted  by  smooth  roads,  we  were  in  a  fair  way  of  reach 
ing  Vienna  by  night,  but  a  cold  rain  sent  us  scurrying  into  a  hotel  on 
the  roadside,  delaying  us  until  the  next  morning.  We  reached  the 
outskirts  of  Vienna  at  10  o'clock  in  the  morning,  wheeling  into  the 
city  through  scores  of  parks,  avenues  of  beautiful  buildings,  and 
squares  reserved  for  the  erection  of  some  government  structure 
designed  to  match  some  magnificent  building  already  rearing  its 
proud  dome  on  the  square  opposite.  Vienna  would  be  a  paradise  to 
cyclists  if  the  street  pavements  and  condition  of  thoroughfares  were 
not  a  menace  to  life  and  limb.  There  is  not  a  street  but  that  has 
suffered  severe  attacks  of  gas,  ttuter  and  sewage  contraction.  The 
result  is  a  maze  of  holes,  ditches,  depressions  and  bumps.  There  are 
many  places  to  visit  in  Vienna  and  near  by,  but  one  of  the  first 
runs  we  made  was  far  out  in  the  suburbs  to  a  cottage  occupied  by  a 
Mr.  Clemens.  Few  people  in  the  book-reading  world  know  Mr. 
Clemens,  but  millions  know  Mark  Twain,  and  the  pair  are  as 
closely  united  as  Dr.  .Tekyl  and  Mr.  Hyde  (yet  in  justice  to  Mr. 
Clemens,  not  so  dissimilar  in  character).  Mr.  Clemens  was  situated  in 
a  delightful,  quiet  spot,  hard  at  work,  while  his  daughters  were  adding 
to  their  musical  education  the  desired  Viennese  polish.  1  did  not 
ascertain  what  fountain-pen  he  used,  get  a  diagram  of  the  house 
with  a  cross  representing  where  he  sat  at  work,  or  even  his  sigua- 
9 


130  AROUND  THE  WORLD  ON  WHEELS. 

ture  asserting  that  I  had  a  genuine  interview  with  him,  but  I  know 
that  he  was  enjoying  good  health,  was  vigorous  as  ever,  smoked  good 
cigars,  and  said  we  were  welcome. 

We  liked  Vienna  and  its  people,  and  we  stayed  in  the  city  just 
long  enough  to  enjoy  its  pleasures  and  learn  only  a  few  of  its  incon- 
veniences. The  Inter  Ocean  cyclists  had  decided  to  depart  westward 
July  27.  and  the  "Neue  Wiener  Tagblatt,"  which  had  announced  every 
movement  we  had  made,  did  not  lose  advantage  of  a  final  write-up. 
Early  in  the  morning  of  the  date  agreed  upon  we  were  aroused 
by  a  visitor.  He  was  a  cyclist  and  came  to  announce  that  hundreds 
of  people  were  awaiting  us  in  the  Kohlmarkt,  and  though  the  hour 
was  7  o'clock  and  we  were  to  start  at  9,  the  people  would  be  pleased 
if  we  would  remain  on  exhibition  during  the  interval.  The  idea  did 
not  suit  us  exactly,  and  communicating  the  fact  to  the  delegate 
through  closed  doors,  we  again  slept  the  sleep  of  people  who  must  do 
two  days'  work  in  one.  We  reached  the  Kohlmarkt  at  9  o'clock,  and, 
as  our  early  informant  had  stated;  a  crowd  awaited  us.  It  was  a 
Vienna  crowd,  good-natured  and  patient,  who  cheered  us  as  we 
wheeled  into  sight,  made  way  for  us  to  pass  to  the  rendezvous,  but 
almost  pulled  us  to  pieces  in  efforts  to  shake  hands  with  lis  and  attract 
attention  to  their  hearty  "Gleich  lich  ze  reisen." 

We  pulled  out  into  the  street  at  9:30  o'clock.  Our  escort  and  the 
police  held  back  the  crowd  long  enough  to  allow  a  photographer  to 
add  two  negatives  to  his  collection,  and  then  with  a  sign  of  relief 
we  slipped  into  our  saddles  and  wheeled  slowly  through  the  lane  of 
shouting  people.  Our  escort  was  a  unique  one,  the  riders  clad  in  white 
flannel,  black  hose,  and  lavender  silk  sweaters.  Mr.  Charles  Car- 
penter, Miss  Marion  Carpenter  and  Mr.  Fritz  of  Tottstown,  Pa.,  also 
lined  up,  and  with  a  constantly  accumulating  line  of  cyclists  we 
started  toward  the  western  limits.  Near  St.  Poiten  we  had  lunch, 
our  companions  returned  to  Vienna,  and  the  Inter  Ocean  cyclists 
wheeled  on  alone.  We  halted  that  night  sixty-four  miles  from  where 
we  had  left  our  Vienna  party  at  midday.  We  were  again  in  the  realm 
of  gast-houses,  plain  but  substantial  meals,  odd  little  chambers, 
equipped  with  two  bedsteads,  one  chair,  a  washstand,  and  several 
feather  beds.  It  is  pleasant,  though,  clean,  and  our  only  regret  at  the 
resumption  of  our  trip  Mas  that  we  had  left  behind  Vienna,  a  city 
which  cannot  be  excelled  in  gayety,  life  and  beauty.  Faris  may  be 
more  wicked,  vicious  and  historical  in  strife,  but  there  is  only  one 
Vienna,  and  that  a  peerless  city  of  beauty  and  wholesome  pleasure. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 


3  0112  031888511 


